


Soldiers of Time

by Nick_Sage



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama & Romance, Epic Battles, Epic Friendship, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Secrets, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Incest, Sibling Rivalry, Teen Romance, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-04-30 21:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14506272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nick_Sage/pseuds/Nick_Sage
Summary: Ned Stark's death is faked as he is saved by mysterious people from the future. Lord Stark leads his new found soldiers into his path of vengeance to see those who wronged his family is brought to Justice. Along the way, building effective relationship with his existing and his new found family giving them what he failed to do in his past and in the foreseeable future. He vows to change them to build a better world for his family and his people. A world where people can co-exist and live in peace and harmony."The house that sits on the throne and rules over the seven kingdoms have become a part of a system that creates and carries the cycle of violence and injustice stepping on the lives of people they sworn to protect and serve. It will have to change, even if it has to happen by force"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (A\N: 
> 
> Reference: Family Chart
> 
> Sansa Stark: 1) Viola Stark (Elder) (Female)  
> 2) Liza Stark (Younger) (Female)
> 
> Arya Stark: 1) Wulfric Stark (Male)  
> 2) Clay Stark (Twins) (Male)
> 
> Brandon Stark: 1) Lucian Stark (Male)
> 
> Jon Snow:1)Wallace Targaryen (Male)  
> 2) Iris Targaryen (Twins) (Female)

Chapter 01: Ned Stark’s Army

 

Ned Stark stared into the flickering lamp as the dim light engulfed the tiny prison, casting a shadow of his body all across the walls. Varys had just paid him a visit, brought some ale to soothe his aching mind. He had hoped to turn this around but with no success owing to Littlefinger’s secret plot with the queen. It was no secret to begin with as he totally should have seen it coming. 

Being a parent of six children has dulled his ability to spot darkness in men which is understandable. He has come across many Knights who have told him how they sometimes lose their edge in the battlefield when they think of their family anxiously waiting for their return. At those times, Ned thought it was supposed to be a good thing, to have someone waiting for you, until he himself was near his end. He thought about the kind of state his family would be in if he were to die. He was one sunrise away from getting his head cut off from his body. He remembered Varys offering his unadulterated advise of accepting his charges and asked to be sent to the wall. That way he gets to keep his head intact and also stay alive. 

But Ned didn’t have much hope for this to work, as he foresaw his death already at his doorstep. He wondered if he should just accept it, embrace it. He thought had lived a honourable life and has not done any wrong to anyone. But did he though? 

When Varys mentioned the Wall, the first thing that came to his mind was his son Jon. Ned rejoiced at the opportunity of meeting his son again, so that he could keep his promise, both to Jon and His mother…His mother… He thought of Jon’s mother, handing over her child to Ned, asking to keep him safe…protect him… Thinking about Jon, he asked himself if he would be satisfied to go like this… without fulfilling his promises… what honourable lord would not keep his promise… It hurt him a lot when he thought back on the life Jon has to live in Winterfell…What would he tell his mother if she knew… He promised her he would protect him and give him a life… what would he think, if she knew her son lived a life of being discriminated and looked down upon…. Not just from outsiders but from Ned’s own wife. How could he have allowed it to happen? Why didn’t he intervene? Was it right for Ned to just leave? Who would tell Jon what he was meant to be? Who would protect him in the wall if he was not alive? What would happen to him if he were to die? 

While thinking about Jon, his mind wavered to his son Robb. Varys mentioned his son was leading an army south to save him. Ned remembered the days when he took Robb and Jon to his hunt. Those were some of the best days of his life. He could see Robb, though being so young, was able to understand the situation perfectly. Robb was always the one to fill the void left by Cat in Jon’s heart. His understanding of the situation allowed him to treat Jon as a brother outside his mother’s sight and also making sure his father was not affected. Ned felt bad that his own wife was treating Jon differently and he was not oblivious to it, but couldn’t do anything. But Robb was able to. This showed Ned that his son would definitely make a great King… But was it alright for him to leave his son at a time like this, not being by his side, to help him, advise him, teach him the ways of becoming a great ruler, worthy of people’s love. 

But Robb was not the only one to care deeply for Jon. In fact, Ned was sure Arya would beat Robb to the top spot. His tomboyish daughter thought the world of Jon and he could see why. Arya was always the odd fit in his family and she was able to connect with Jon who was also in a similar position, but in a larger scale. But Arya was too young to understand the gravity of Jon’s situation. To her, Jon was just like her and that in itself is a thread of bond between them, that will last for ever. It was something even his dear wife can’t break and Ned was happy. But no matter how strong arya thinks she is, in the end, deep inside, she is just as scared as anyone. He was able to see that when she was summoned by King Robert for hurting Joffrey. Ned could see through her scared frail body. She needs more support. She needs her father. He brought her to kings Landing along with her sister…

Ah her sister… He thought what should he do with her…so innocent and adamant just like him in some ways… he couldn’t blame Sansa, in fact he wished if she would stay like this, but he knows if he is gone, she would be all alone, blinded by a love that was never true. If he is gone, who will protect her from the fangs of the queen and her devils. He so wished he left Sansa at Winterfell with Bran. 

Thinking of Bran made Ned twitch with anger. Now he realised what happened to his son was no accident. And now, his son is a cripple who cannot walk. Bran always dreamed of becoming a knight and Ned was furious that his dream was gone before it even began. A lot of times, when people fail after putting the effort, Ned would think it was worth the try but for his son didn’t get the chance to even try and that hurt him…made him angry… was it right for him to just leave….Who will help his crippling son stand back on his feet, if not physically but at least mentally… who can motivate him that there is still life left for him to enjoy…and who can give him that life… How can he leave now…? If Robb had left Winterfell, then Ned knew Bran and Rickon were alone…

Rickon was too young when he left and he was not able to spend much time with his youngest son. If he were to leave now, who can teach his son everything about being a man… how can he just leave…?

 

Just thinking about what would happen to his family if he were to die tomorrow, was like a hundred daggers to his heart. He wanted to close his eyes to try and sleep, for one last time before his death. But his plans were ruined when he saw a shadow approaching. He wondered if it was already dawn. It was possible, he spent a lot of time thinking of his family and it was entirely possible to have spent the whole night. Was it the guards? Here to take him to his death march? He heard the gates of the prison clutter open with the sound echoing through the small room. 

The shadow approached him and stood right next to him. He saw two people, whose entire bodies were covered in a black cloak. Ned couldn’t identify anyone. “Who are you?” asked Ned, as the people in the cloak stood there staring at him. 

They didn’t seem to be making any movements as the first guy spoke, “We are your saviours Lord Stark” said the first guy who seemed to be in command. His voice was very coarse and an accent Ned couldn’t recognise. But more importantly, what could he mean by saviour? 

“What do you mean?” he asked?

“To be precise you are our saviour so we are here to prevent you from dying” said the cloaked person. He indicated the person to remove his cloak. When he did, Ned was astonished to see it was a mirror image of himself. 

“What’s the meaning of this?” Ned asked. 

“Lord Stark, this man will take your place and die at the execution, while you come with me. We are going to escape” explained the person in the cloak. 

Ned couldn’t believe it. Can he really cling to this hope of being able to make out here alive? Is this another exaggerated plot where he is being betrayed? “Who are you? How can I trust you?” ned asked again. He forgave all hope and now suddenly something like this happens, he couldn’t simply believe. 

“I will explain later, first, we need to get out of here Lord Stark. We don’t have much time until dawn. We must leave before sunrise. If you really want to know we are here to help, I can only tell you this… if you come with me, you will be able to keep your promise you made to your son before he joined the Wall” said the cloaked person. 

Ned couldn’t believe what he just heard. He knew exactly what the person was talking about. He wanted to know more but for now, it was enough to trust him. He agreed to escape with him. “But who is this? The person who is going to die in my place?” asked Ned. “I don’t want to let someone innocent take my place” 

The cloaked guy just laughed, “You really are an honourable person, Lord Stark. Your reputation precedes you, but do not worry. I will tell you all about this person later, when the time comes. But for now, we have to go” 

Ned didn’t want to push it any further as he followed the cloaked guy outside. On the way, he could see a lot of Lannister men lying unconscious on the ground. “What did you do?” asked a curious Ned. 

“I put them to sleep, but that’s the last of what I had though. That’s why we must move before they wake up. When they do, everything will be normal, as if nothing happened, and your execution will go as it is planned” said the cloaked guy. 

“You speak as if you know for sure I am going to die tomorrow” stated Ned. 

“You are telling me you didn’t?” asked the guy. 

 

Ned just smiled. His curiosity only heightened as he say more and more of this mysterious person. Whatever it was, there was something about this person that ned was attracted to. The person seemed like to be very familiar with him. “I did… besides, have we met before?” he asked. 

“No Lord Stark, this is the first time I am meeting you…” the bit said as they reached outside. Ned saw there were more cloaked people on horses waiting for them. He wondered if they were this guy’s followers. They had prepared two horses for him and the mysterious guy too. “Is you leg fine Lord Stark? Can you ride?” asked the guy. 

“This is just a scratch, I can manage” said Ned. 

“Good, and do you happen to know any place where we can camp for a while? There is a lot we need to catch up on and it would be better if it was some place private where no one can spot us” explained the cloaked guy. 

Ned thought for a while, “There is a watchtower half way through the King’s road. It is my secret place that no one knows, we will be safe there” said ned. He didn’t know what was going on but he would soon find out. “I will lead the way” he added as he kicked his horse to get it to move. He saw the cloaked guy signal his friends to follow as they were right behind him. 

With a hard ride on the King’s road, they were half way through before dawn. Ned wondered if he was being too hard on the others but they were able to keep up with him quite well. Based on his observations, they all must be very well trained through and through. He took some tight turns leading them deep into the forests that bisects the king’s road in half. When they went a few distance into the forest, they arrived at an open spot where the tall trees covered it in a semi-circle on the front while at the back, situated the shallow backwaters that led directly to the open sea. 

They arrived exactly at sunrise as planned and the scene was quite something as Ned’s new unknown mysterious friends were in awe as if they had never seen something like this in their life. At the edge of the waters, there was the watchtower as Ned mentioned, not too tall but not too small either. There was a small house and a barn in front of the tower. 

Once there was light in the sky, Ned realised some of the people in the black cloak were just children. He curiosity just became more intense. 

“Who goes there?” a voice of a man approached them, and soon the small people were quick to draw their sharp blades. The sound of unseathing sounds were loud and terrifying as ned had to calm them down. The leader of the gang, asked his people to stand down when Ned signalled them to. 

Ned got down from his horse as he addressed the person. “It’s me Bartha… It’s Eddard Stark” he answered as he went closer to him. The man immediately knelt down in front of him. 

“Apologies my Lord, we are not used to this many people approaching this area. I was just being a bit cautious” answered Bartha, to which Ned waved off his apology and asked him to rise. 

“How is your family?” enquired Ned. 

“With my Lord’s will, they are doing fine. Laura, come out. It’s safe now” Bartha called out to his wife. “And who might these be?” Bartha asked, looking at the suspicious black cloaked people. 

“They are my guests, we will have to lay low for quite some time Bartha, hope you understand. We didn’t mean to Impose on you” ned told him. 

“Nonsense my Lord!! We are being survived by your generous heart. We will be more than happy to serve you. Besides, this was your place to begin with” said Bartha. He seemed happy enough to convince Ned. 

Ned turned to his new friends, “We will garrison in this tower. You can leave the horses at the barn. We will be able to talk in private. Let’s head inside the tower” he told them, as the got off their horses one by one. 

Ned’s theory was confirmed as some of the cloaked were not even as tall as the horse’s stomach. He wondered if he was saved by a bunch of dwarfs. He saw Bartha’s wife Laura come out with her daughter.

“Lord Stark, It’s good to see you, this is my daughter Anya” she introduced herself and her daughter. Ned greeted them in return. 

Bartha spoke to his wife, “Laura, help the horses to the barn and fetch some water for our guests” he told her. 

Ned thanked her for the help as they all went up the tower. Before he left he told bartha, “You might hear some news from the capital, when you do, don’t panic and let me know. And also, keep our location a secret” 

“Of course, my Lord. You need not worry” 

There were two floors to the slender tower, but it was enough to house at least twenty people. The amount of people with Ned were close to that number. Soon they were all settled at the first floor. Ned, though he was injured, made sure he was standing waiting for the mysterious men to make their move. 

Incidentally, the guy who appeared to be the leader spoke first, “Lord Stark, I understand you have a lot of questions, but before that, let us introduce ourselves” as the leader signalled his followers to remove their cloaks. When they did, Ned was surprised to see that some of them were literally children as he expected. They wouldn’t be much older than bran but not too much. But what was more surprising was that they all looked so much familiar to Ned, like he has seen each and everyone of them before. 

“Who are you children?” Ned asked this time, knowing for sure, they were just children. He noticed the leader and the person next to him still had their cloaks for whatever reason. 

The leader started to speak, “We may look like children, not just look like some of us are, but we all have distinctive abilities that makes us quite resourceful. Starting from the boy far left, 

That’s Lucian Stark, son of Brandon Stark, with his greenseer abilities, Lucian builds the most formidable information network in whole of Westeros. Nothing happens anywhere without him knowing. He sometimes uses his abilities to peep into women’s baths.

Next to him, Wulfric Stark and Clay Stark, sons of Arya stark. Wulfric is a spy and a master assassin who can complete any mission given to him with less trouble and Clay is a master smith who can create anything if you can just give him a piece of metal. A lot of weapons Wulfric uses are created by his brother and they make a good team, but often get in trouble with their mother by building unwanted, unnecessary things. Wulfric and clay are twins who are around the same age as Lucian. 

Next, Viola Stark and Liza Stark, daughters of Sansa Stark. Viola the elder daughter, is a classic lady of a noble house capable of managing anything and everything while she can also turn into a formidable warrior when words become useless. Liza, the younger daughter is a political genius who has more knowledge of all houses, weakness and an expert negotiator. Viola has a bad temper and has a terrible drinking problem while her sister is a money spending gambling addict. She more often wins than loses. 

Next to me is my sister, Iris Targaryen, an expert archer and a fast runner. She is the sweetest person in the whole world and has the purest heart. And lasty, I am Wallace Targaryen, a master swordsman trained by the greatest swordsman north has ever seen who also happens to be our father. Liza is slightly elder to Wulfric, Clay and Lucian while Viola is a year younger to us which makes us the eldest in the gang. Together, we serve the Lord of Time. He sent us here to save you live and by doing so, hope to save the future” Wallace, the leader, finally finished introducing everyone. 

“THEY BOTH ARE IN LOVE AND SLEEP TOGETHER” everyone else shouted, visibly angry that Wallace said something bad about everyone but claimed himself and his sister to be such noble people. 

Ned Stark didn’t need much more explanations or clarifications as what this boy said made perfect sense. Ever since others removed their cloaks, they were very familiar and when Wallace introduced them, Ned could easily associate their faces with his own children as there were so many features matching them. And finally when Wallace revealed his face, it was so much identical to Jon, in fact, Wallace and his sister were at the same age as Jon. 

The smaller ones were around the age of Arya and Bran while Sansa’s eldest daughter was quite like her in terms of facial features and her body figure. There were also other features mixed in which seemed like her father’s and Ned could already guess who it must be. He didn’t find it too hard to believe as he was experiencing it himself at first. This is no dream and he was fully aware of it. He saw Jon’s son approach him. 

“Who are those people downstairs?” He asked Ned. “And what is this place? Father never once mentioned it to me” said Wallace. 

Ned was startled at the mention of Jon as Wallace’s father and it sure felt awkward. He knew it will be sometime before he could get use to this. 

“That is because I never told anyone about this place. Not even your father. It is my secret hideout where I keep my important stuff. And Barth once saved my life during the Rebellion even though he was on the other side. He served the Targaryen’s and after the war, I helped him get away from the capital as Robert wanted all Targaryen followers killed. I had him live here and also keep an eye on the tower while I am away. The tower itself sits in a comfortable place, which conceals itself behind these huge trees. No one other than me knows about the route we took to get here. It is also not visible from the sea which makes it an ideal place to hide and conceal things” Ned explained. 

“As I said earlier, you are as much as the honourable man my father told me. I grew up listening to stories about you, my father was very particular I learn the values of life that you followed and learn to lead a life like you did. So it’s an honour for me to meet you in person Lord Stark” explained Wallace. 

“How did you all find me? And why did you break me out?” asked Ned. 

It was Liza, Sansa’s youngest daughter, who answered, “As you might have figured out, we are from a future time so far from now where many of our friends and family are dead. While there were several reasons pertaining to that, the most critical one was your death which must be happening right now as we speak. When you died today, the world was sent into a turmoil as it started the War of Five kings. You would have noticed Uncle Robb’s child is not here, that is because he too died in the near future, disseminating House Stark for good” Sansa’s daughter explained. 

Lord Eddard kind of figured that out half way through her explanation. But he didn’t think Robb would die so soon and it made him furious. “But there was someone else to took my place today. Why?” he asked Wallace. 

“That is because the World must know that Ned Stark is dead. We are from the future, we are here to change the past but there are things we can’t change and there are also things we don’t want to change. For that to happen as it is recorded in the history, you death had to be faked. Now we will make sure we only change things what we want to change” Wallace explained. 

Ned was impressed with Jon’s son. He seemed to be in complete control of himself and also knew what he was talking about. He could very well rival Sansa’s daughter, but given her age, she really was a great speaker and might also be a great negotiator. 

“So who decides what incidents we change?” asked Ned. 

“You” answered Lucian, Bran’s son. “Before we explain further, we have something for you” he said as he took out a small orb like thing. “This is the ‘Orb of Time’ a gift from our Lord. It can only be activated upon your touch” he gave the Orb to Lord Eddard. 

When Ned took hold of the Orb, a Light emerged from the orb and a Figure of light appeared in front of them. “Lord Stark, I seems my soldiers have successfully completed their first mission” the person said. 

“You are the Lord of Time?” asked Lord Stark. 

“No I am but a humble servant of the Lord. These are my soldiers that I have recruited and given a special mission to carry out. As they might have already explained to you, you are the key to mankind’s survival in the coming great war in many different ways if not directly. Now that you have been saved, you will also be serving our Lord by leading this remarkable group, who also happens to be your children, into succeeding their given mission” 

Ned didn’t give any reaction and it also didn’t seem like the servant of the lord was expecting any. He continued with his explanations, “This orb you hold, is your powerful tool depending on the way you use it. With this Orb, you will be able to reverse time of anything in this world. As simple as it can be. 

Your first mission will be to go to the tomb of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark and revive them. Now, using this Orb, you can only reverse time five times. After my first task is complete, you will be left with three more. That will be up to you. You and you alone can decide when and where you want to use it. And remember, you can only reverse time on a person only once. Knowing you, I am sure you will put it to great use Lord Stark. I wish you good luck” the spirit disappeared into the Orb. The orb itself turned into a bracelet and stuck itself to Ned Stark’s left arm. 

There was a knock on the door, When Wulfric, Arya’s son, opened the door, Bartha was at the doorstep. “My lord, as you requested, I have news from the capital. The world just found out about your execution” said Bartha as he handed out everyone’s food and water. He also personally handed out the raven to Lord Stark and left.

They were all relieved that first phase of the plan was a success. They all waited for their leader for the next step. “I am going to need some time alone. Take the rest of the day off. I know you all must be tired, so take good rest, help out Bartha if you can, stay within the Barn, do not ever leave anywhere” Lord Eddard gave out instructions. 

Before he could leave, Liza approached him, “This is a diary of my father. Through out his life, he has recorded every major incident that happened to himself and to Westeros. I hope it would help you somehow” she handed the book to Ned. 

Ned got the book from Liza and he playfully ruffled her blackish and golden hair, “Thank you, child. That was thoughtful of you!! Off you go now, eat well” 

Ned also handed them some old clothes stored up in the tower to his grandchildren to wash. He also dropped a pile of weapons of various kinds to Clay asking him to sharpen them. He put Wallace in charge, to make sure things are smooth in his absence. 

Liza and Iris took the clothes to wash them behind in the back waters while Lucian Wulfric and Clay asked Bartha to let them know if they need to fix anything in the house of the barn. They also volunteered to help Laura feed the Horses and even help cut fire woods. 

Ned watched them disperse from far as he bunked himself to the second floor and closed the door behind him. They were all good kids, he thought to himself. Today was quite the day for him as he was officially dead. There were too many information and he needed time to process them slowly. And now, he has been tasked with this crazy mission where he has to lead his grandchildren into dangerous missions. He reminded himself he has to be at his sharpest best to pull of such missions as the last thing he wanted was to endanger those kids life. He opened the dairy he got from Sansa’s daughter and started to read through it. 

Hours past beyond sunset as the bright stars sparkled in the night sky. Right below them, the children circled around a fire as they were prepared to have their dinner. 

“Should we call Grandfather, to join us?” asked Liza to the group, to which Viola just smacked her younger sister lightly on her head. 

“I have told you not to call him that here. We are in the past, we can’t call him like that. We need to call him as Lord Stark” Viola corrected her. 

Liza was just pouting, “Iris, Viola is always getting mad at me” she complained to Iris. Liza was close to Iris among their cousins as they spent a lot of time together in the future. Iris’s Mother and Liza’s father were very close friends so they get to meet each other a lot often. Viola would always run off to drink or spend time with the grown-ups so Liza will always be left alone. In those times, Liza bonded with Iris and they became best friends. 

Iris simple consoled her little cousin that Viola was just being thoughtful and was also right in a way. So it calmed her down but the question still remained, “Maybe we just knock once to see if he responds” Iris suggested. 

“I don’t know, He has been inside there for hours together, I don’t know what kind of mood he will be in after everything that happened” Lucian voiced his opinion. 

Wulfric agreed, “I think we need to give him more time” he said. Wulfric and Lucian were best friends. Though Wulfric and his twin brother clay make a great team, Wulfric enjoys partnering with Lucian, as his Greenseer abilities vastly help him as an assassin. Lucian’s renaissance skills are unmatched by anyone, probably only by his father Brandon Stark, so he always enjoyed spending time with him. Besides, Lucian was someone in Wulfric’s age who is not his brother so they could talk about a lot of things. He also at times tags along with Lucian’s peeping habits both of them will be caught by Wulfric’s mother. 

Wallace was in pinch, usually he is not sentimental to these things himself personally but he kinda understands that his cousins are seeing their Grandfather for the first time so of course they would want to spend time with him. They have all heard only stories of him so it is only natural for them to expect these things… But like Lucian said, he wanted to give Lord stark some space to sort things… His thoughts were interrupted when lord stark himself approached the group. He had a new dressing of bandages on his wounds as he was limping towards them. 

Viola immediately cleared her spot to let her grandfather sit as she moved towards the side. When Lord stark was seated, Iris served him some nicely roasted fish and some ale to go with it. “How are you doing Lord Stark?” Iris enquired, seemingly worried if he was truly fine. 

Ned just laughed at her care for his wellbeing, “I am fine child, I took my time and have read through the Dairy Liza’s father wrote and I quite understand the situation. It must have been a tough life for you all in the future and also for my own children and for House Stark. I can’t believe my death would have such impact in my family and also in the future” 

Everyone were looking at a different side of Lord Stark and were listening in full silence, not because they were afraid or anything but they truly respected him. 

Ned continued, “I am also aware of the upcoming threat from the north and it is important to find a way to handle them. Like in the future, I cannot let my son carry the burden by himself. But before that, I believe there are things we must do and we will do it one by one starting with reviving my sister and prince Rhaegar” ned finished. 

There were happy, smiling all across the burning fire as everyone were so happy to hear those words. They were happy that Lord Stark agreed to take on the mission and lead them into a better future. They totally believed if it was him, he could do it. 

“So, where are we going?” asked Wallace.

“Starfall… It’s a place near Dorne… It’s where my sister’s tomb remains alongside Prince Rhaegar as she wished. Also, I have lost my sword Ice as it is stuck in the Capital. I don’t suppose we can find it again so my replacement is also in star fall. I have asked Bartha to get us a ship that takes us to dorne. We will be leaving before dawn” Ned explained his plan. 

“What about my mother?” asked Liza, worried for Sansa who was still in Kings Landing. 

“Easy child, we shall take it one at a time. Last time, the mistake I made was to blindly follow Robert. But this time, we need to be careful, thinking through every possibility… don’t worry, your mother made it out last time, and we should trust her to hold her fort until we make our move” Ned assured the child. He was happy to see she was not much worried. “For now, Let’s dig into this juicy meat” he added, to lighten the mood. 

He was watching his grandchildren devour the meat as they enjoyed themselves. It reminded him of the time when he shared secret dinners Robb hosted as they used to smuggle meat into their chambers for a late night gatherings amongst their siblings long after his wife and himself were asleep. He still remembered Arya used to sneak into his room silently and wake him and ask him to join them, without waking her mother. When Ned obliged, he was the happiest father that night, to see his children, all together, forgetting their trivial fights they had that day, forgetting their house and just enjoying their time together eating. Ned felt privileged that they invited him and share those moments with him, allowing him to be part of their lives. 

He knew, what he was thinking yesterday in those cells of Kings landing were wrong. After reading the dairy, after learning the kind of future his family had to face, he was furious as his mind was filled with vengeance upon those who wronged his family and his house. He knew it was not the time and place for him to die, he promised himself to make things right, make things better for his family. It was his duty to protect them. After all these years of being a Lord, he thought it dulled his mind, but now, he promised to comeback strong. Just for the sake of his family, he decided to go back to being Ned Stark the Lone Wolf. 

~When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives~

He realised why the Lord of time made him the leader. As remarkable as his grandchildren can be, they are still kids. They need the right kind of motivation and guidance, if they were to succeed in this mission to save the future. He was confident he could provide them with that and more and he was hoping he would get more help from Rhaegar and Lyanna whom he himself was eager to meet. 

 

~To Be Continued~


	2. Target Red Wedding- Ned's Army Make Their Move

Chapter 02: 

 

The morning sun was vibrant on the sky as Ned Stark and his army, comprising of his grandchildren, docked at the shores at the hottest region of Westeros. They chose to dock the ship in a literal no man’s land to avoid detection. The whole plan is let the world think Lord Stark is dead so that he can act freely. But considering his popularity, it wouldn’t be pretty if people saw a Deadman suddenly arrive at their shores. 

The closest kingdom from their standpoint was Snadstone. However, their actually destination was Starfall, two or three nights away after a hard trek though the rocky region covered with nothing but desert. 

“Why do I have to wear these, it’s so disgusting” a whining Liza said as she unloaded the last barrel among many from the ship. “I have heard people in Dorne wear nice outfits beautifully embroidered with clouds and such…this is just plain horrible” 

Lord Stark simply sighed at Liza’s apparent similarities to her mother. In the past, he has walked into several occasions when Cat was fighting with Sansa about her sense of dressing. He wished he could help his granddaughter but this was all that he had in his watch tower. 

“Would you please stop whining about each and everything. You were complaining about each and everything on the ship that at some point, I wanted to just jump off” said Wulfric. They had just arrived and he was already getting fried under the sun. He was in no mood to listen to more of his cousin’s banter. 

They were in a series of childish verbal exchanges. Lord stark seemed more exhausted by just listening to them. He realised it was the right time to intervene if they were to move forward with their plan, “We have a long walk ahead if us, if you ever want to make it to Starfall, I’d suggest you talk less and put all your energy into your legs. If you keep talking, you will soon get thirsty and would require water, which we have a very limited supply. It’s already going to be very tight to share it among us” he explained. 

“Why can’t we bring more?” asked Lucian. 

“We are using a sledge to move the barrel which itself takes additional energy. So, we reduce the load to conserve our strength” Ned explained. Although he says all that, he seemed to be the one to waste the most energy just by explaining things. “How come you children never learnt all this?” he asked, genuinely curious. 

It was Wallace who answered, “We were all born during the Winter which lasted forever. To be honest, we have never been this far south in our lives” he said. Ned was able to connect Wallace’s information to match the timeline of events he read in the diary Liza gave. He didn’t need more details. He saw Wallace turn to his siblings, “No more playing around, we are not here to have fun. Follow Lord Stark’s instructions. Did you forget he is our commander…” 

Ned didn’t think Wallace had to go that far but it seemed to have worked as everyone hardly every spoke after that, fully focused on crossing the dessert. Although Wallace didn’t mean anything, Ned didn’t want his grandchildren to feel as if they are inferior to him in some way that they had to buck up and follow his orders. But for now, it was better to leave them as determined as they were. 

Three nights of walk involved them camping in several places to rest and sleep. Those were the times, everyone was free to be themselves to a certain extent, but Lord Stark seemed to have really enjoyed them a lot. 

Finally, they managed to reach Starfall. Lord Stark wasted no time as they headed straight to his sister’s tomb. As they walked a little further, they arrived at a tower and beneath them lied three graves. The first two graves were together with no markings while a solitary grave was behind that marked with the name of Ser Arthur Dayne.  
“Sword of the morning” Lucian stated looking at the grave. “Father said he was the greatest swordsman in Westeros. Even better than the Kingslayer” Lucian saw Lord Stark looked surprised. “My father tells a lot of stories about the rebellion” 

“Well, your father was not wrong…I recently fought against Jamie Lannister and I can say his skills with the sword are still in prime form but for now, let’s dig up the other two graves.” Lord Stark instructed them as the children got to work. 

Wallace, Iris & Viola were digging up one grave while Wulfric, Clay and Lucian were on the other. Neither of the group knew whose grave they were digging. Liza, a bit weak for hard labour helped Lord Stark with the orb. Wallace’s group were the first to reach a bump indicating that they have dug far enough to reach the coffin. They wasted no time to pull the box up. Wallace moved to the other group to give them the additional hand that they desperately needed. With a little bit of his help, they were able to pull the other coffin as well. 

Lord Stark had them arrange the coffins right next to each other as he activated the orb. From what he understood, the orb only works upon his touch which means, to it was merely enough to use it upon his free will. The Orb lit up once again as the servant of the Lord appeared before them. 

“It seems you have been taking the mission more seriously than I had imagined Lord Stark. I assume you have fully reconciled with the fact that you are now, a faithful servant of the lord as well” 

Lord Stark just looked at him, “My only purpose is to keep my family safe, whatever form it takes, I do not care”

The servant was pleased by his answer, “Well, I assume you are ready to resurrect the people inside these boxes?” 

“Wasn’t that the mission” said lord Stark.

“Yes, of course” the servant said. He used some kind of spell as a ray of light projected into the coffins. “Well then, that concludes the mission, from here on, it is up to you to use the orb the way you feel it right, Lord Stark” 

“Is that all?” asked Ned, confused by the fact it got over before he thought it began. It seemed to simple a process to bring someone back to life. 

“We are no sorcerers. With the capabilities of our Lord something like this is child’s play. You should ask your grandchildren what our lord is truly capable of. Their very existence right now, in this land should suffice” 

Ned could figure out that much. “Well, for what it’s worth, I never doubted it one bit. In fact, I am grateful for what you Lord has done for me and my family” 

Wallace and the others were particularly touched when Ned referred them as his family. Any normal person would never take on such a mission, family or not. Wallace was blown away by the amount of sheer experience his grandfather has when it comes to managing a mission. He was tempted to ask how he had gotten himself executed by the Lannisters. Wallace’s own father, Jon Snow talks about his grandfather a lot but he never once explained him the circumstances of Lord Stark’s death. Wallace figured it was not the time for such discussions but it reminded him of his own father that he badly wanted to meet him soon… his younger version. 

“I assure you, it is not free of cost. It is still too early to share pleasantries…” said the Servant. “Well I must be off now, I pray for your good fortunes in your mission. Until next time, my dear servants of the Lord” 

The Orb dimmed out and the servant was no longer there. When Ned, who was the closest to one of the coffins, stepped forward cautiously to check if the Orb truly worked. He stopped short on tracks as he saw the coffin shake a few times and the lid opened on its own and a slender hand, that of a woman, stuck out, seeking for some support. Ned reached out and gave his hand and the woman’s hands were quick to react upon the touch. She slid the lid open entirely giving a full view of her body to Ned. Much to his surprise, he gave a slight pull as his dear sister stood up. He looked over and saw it was the same with the other coffin as well. 

But Ned was focused on his sister… he looked at her and noticed she was as humane as she was before her death. Speaking of which, Ned noticed there was not a single drop of blood on her from the time of her death. “Lyanna….” he called out to his sister, wondering if she could hear him, wondering if she was the same person he buried. 

Lyanna stepped out of the wooden coffin a step at a time, confused and blanked. She heard a familiar voice calling for her just like she used to remember. Her memories were quick to travel back to the castle covered in snow, with her and her brothers in the courtyard. She used to watch them train while she was stuck with cooking & stitching lessons. But it was her brother, the owner of the very same voice, who realised her wishes and her potential, that he would invite her to train along with them. They went riding and hunting together. It was her reliable brother, calling out for her.

“Ned….Ned” she responded, her voice a bit hazy. She opened her eyes to look at a grown man, nothing like the man she saw the last time.. And it hit her… her memories betraying her again as they were quick to travel back to the tower where she was lying on a bed covered with her blood. She gasped at the fast in-flow of memories, breathing heavily to compensate her brain activity. She had just given birth to her son and she handed him over to her brother… and then… then… everything went blank.

“Ned, what happened? Where am I?” she asked her brother. She looked around to see lot of children circling her eagerly watching as the scene unfolds. Over to the other side, she saw her true love and husband, Prince Rhaegar being helped by a boy who closely looked like the prince. She had no clue what was going on. 

“Take it easy Lyanna, just breathe” Ned tried his best to release the tension surrounding his sister. He kind of expected her to react exactly as she did but still h couldn’t find words to stop it or at least make things easy for her. But he had no choice so he mustered his strength to explain what was going on.  
Iris was keenly watching the heartfelt moment when Lyanna Stark, her grandmother rise from the dead. She only heard stories of her from her Uncle, Brandon Stark who was possibly the only person who knew anything about her at that point. Even her Father knew nothing about his Mother. In fact, she heard that her father got to know only in the later part of his life. Knowing everything, she struggled to control her emotions. She knew it was for the best to let Lord Stark handle this. 

Lyanna herself was a swirl of emotions. She looked around her to see the never-ending desert sand shining gold under the hot sun. She could tell she was at the same place she held her last breath. It all felt weird for her. She noticed many children surrounding her making her wonder what were their connection to her brother Ned. They all came closer, not taking their eyes off her for a minute like she was a precious artefact. She also noticed her husband Rhaegar was among them, as they formed a semi-circle around her and her brother. She started into Rhargar’s eyes, the same, she noticed as the last time they held each other. She wondered what he was thinking but he just signalled her to go with the flow. They both knew they had no control over this bizarre situation. 

“What happened to the war? What about Robert?” Lyanna asked Ned, who didn’t waste a breath to answer, as if he was ready with the words. 

“War was over a long time ago. It’s an event that went down the history which gravely changed the scenario of Westeros. “Robert’s Rebellion” they called it. But none of it matters now as Robert is no more” Ned answered. 

Rhaegar couldn’t muster the fact. Robert was his biggest foe in battle and he wondered what could have made this happen. 

Wallace was at his full attention to the story Ned started. His father hardly spoke off the Rebellion. He would only tell him those that his own alleged father Ned told. These were recollection of some of the biggest event in the history coming from the man who played a key role in it. 

“After the war, He married Cersei Lannister, who later hand him killed. The Lannisters now sit on the Iron Throne” Ned continued. 

It was another moment of shock for Lyanna. She remembered Cersei and she couldn’t believe she would be able to kill Robert. 

“How is that even possible?” asked Rhaegar, equally shocked from the news. 

“The Robert who was killed is not the Robert we both knew. That is an entirely different happening of event to be said for another time. The point of the matter is, with his existence, I had to raise your Son as my Bastard boy in Winterfell. If Robert had ever found out about it, I didn’t know how to protect him. He was not the Aegon Targaryen, the heir to the throne but rather Jon Snow, the bastard of Winterfell. This boy and girl here, they are his children from the future, along with the others here. They have come to save the world and you both play a major part in it, as do I.” Ned finished his explanation. 

Lyanna and Rhaegar looked at each other several times before exchanging looks from the two children Ned pointed. Lyanna now knew why that boy looked so much like her prince except with black hair. Jon Snow… she thought to herself. She tried to picture him keeping he boy as the base. “Surely he can’t be much different than him right” she thought to herself. 

Rhaegar was fixated on the girl and her oddly obvious Targaryen features. She looked so beautiful and familiar that wanted him to ask, “Who is your mother?” he asked. 

“Daenerys Targaryen” was the girl’s response and Rhaegar knew immediately how happy he was. The relief he got cannot match with anything he felt, to think House Targaryen was still alive. 

“What are your names?” Rhaegar asked them. 

“Iris Targaryen and this is my brother Wallace” the girl responded again. 

“Who are these?” Lyanna asked about the other children around her. 

“They are the children of my children. We cannot be wasting too much time here. There is a small work I have to do. The children will lead you all to the docks, I will meet you there. You can get to know about the current situation from them” Ned stated. 

Lyanna and Rhaegar could only nod their heads in approval as they saw Ned take some supplies and go somewhere. They were both eager to get to know about what’s happening currently. For lyanna, she wanted to find out more about her son from his son. It sounded odd thinking about it. She joined Rhaegar who volunteered to help with some of the luggage, which the children were more than happy to share. But it finally gave her some alone time with her husband. 

“I can’t believe this is all true. It all like a big dream to me” Lyanna started the conversation. She didn’t know what kind of mood Rhaegar was in after hearing everything from Ned. 

Rhaegar just smiled at her when she joined him in their journey back to the docks. “I feel the same. This is not something I phantom even in my wildest dreams, but somehow I feel blessed to be able to reconnect with you again” 

Lyanna just blushed like a little girl in love. She didn’t know how to respond as she turned the topics to her son, “I want to meet him soon…our son. He is here in this world. I wonder what is he doing right now. Let’s ask Wallace about him” lyanna said and rushed to her grandchildren. 

Rhaegar tried to stop her but before he knew, she took off to the front where Wallace and iris were leading the group back to the docks. She was still the same girl he fell in love with, doing what she pleases. That was one of her best qualities but this time the situation was complicated so he also joined them at the front. 

Both Wallace and Iris looked surprised seeing Lyanna and Rhaegar approach them. But they maintained their composure. 

“Wallace, right?” Lyanna asked coming towards the side of Wallace and walking beside him. Rhaegar was on the other side next to Iris who was caught in the middle, her heart beating faster every moment. 

Lyanna saw Iris staring awkwardly at her, “What’s wrong? Do I look too young to be your grandmother?” 

Iris just laughed her joke, “No, not at all. We just thought of leaving you alone. I am sure all this must be difficult and complicated. We thought you needed some time to settled in” 

Lyanna thought that was very considerate of her granddaughter, “Usually it’s the case but I prefer to talk freely. There is no point keeping it to ourselves and go mad. You should leave out unnecessary stress” she explained. “you have black hair even though you are a Targaryen” she asked him. 

“I take more after my father” Wallace said as he sheepishly laughed at her remark. 

“Where is your father right now?” she asked him. 

“If I have to be accurate, he must be in the Night’s Watch. My father left to join the Night’s Watch right around the time Lord Stark travelled to King’s Landing to be the hand of the King to Robert Baratheon” Wallace explained. 

Wow, that was a bombardment of information there for Lyanna. She didn’t know which was more endearing, her son is in Castle Black or that her brother agreed to serve Robert. She knows they were close friends but Ned would never leave Winterfell. Besides, what’s with her son in Castle Black? She knew only criminals were sent there. Does that mean her son is…. No way..she didn’t want to think like that. 

“He is not some criminal, he himself chose go there” Wallace said to her, making her wonder what kind of face she was making, thinking of the circumstance of her son joining the Nights Watch. Was it that obvious? Well it was a relief to know he chose it go there. After all there is great honour for a Stark to be serving the Nights Watch. 

Besides, when Wallace mentioned about History, she realised that he was from the future, “You are from the future, so what made you come here? What happened to your parents?” she felt Wallace and Iris stun for a moment, “They both died” then Wallace answered which made Lyanna stop on her tracks. She saw Wallace and Iris walk past them and continued to walk away. Rhaegar came back for her. She could just look at him. 

Rhaegar just sighed, “I figured it would be something like this that’s why I was a little sensitive in talking to them about our son. They are just like us, dear. They also don’t know the Jon of this world, just like us. Or rather, it’s Jon who doesn’t about our existence at least not that he is our son, but for them, he doesn’t have the slightest thought of their existence. It must be really painful for them, for all of these children” Rhaegar explained hoping for Lyanna to understand which she did. 

“Not as bad as knowing they are dead” Viola spoke up. She was probably listening to their whole conversation. “Besides, you can’t blame those two. Their family had it worse than ours” 

Lyanna didn’t know what she meant but it didn’t sound good at all and this time, she knew better than to push the conversation further. She realized what kind of a future these kids lived in, which made them flee to the past. For the rest of the Journey, Viola and the others explained everything that has happened from the end of the Rebellion to the present day. 

They all reached the docks and were waiting for Ned to show up, but for Lyanna, it seemed like the walk to the Docks were very fast after taking in all the information. She felt very angry about her brother almost being executed by the lannisters. She needed all the time she got waiting, until her brother showed up. She, along with everyone else noticed he was carrying a sword with him. 

Isn’t that..? Rhaegar was about to ask him s soon as he noticed it. 

“Yes, Dawn wielded by Ser Arthur Dayne. With my sword Ice stuck at King’s Landing, I figured I need something of that calibre if I am going to go on an all-out war. I am no longer the Lord who left Winterfell, just for the sake of my family, I will try to go back being just Ned Stark who was once hailed as one of the strongest. I will need that if I am going to protect my Grandchildren” Ned declared. 

Rhaegar walked up to Ned, “Let me join you on your Quest, we will make them pay for everything that was taken from us” 

From the way he spoke, Ned realised they must have got the full picture of the situation. It was almost reassuring that he was not in wrong to feel the same way when he first got to know of the real truth. He surely welcomed the additional support Rhaegar and his sister brought to the group. Rhaegar especially is a brilliant fighter and a tactician and he knows all too well about the capabilities of his sister. It will definitely help in keeping the children safe. 

“What is our next move Lord Stark?” asked Wallace. 

“We will head back to our Hideout and remain concealed. We will use that time to train & prepare ourselves for the upcoming big battles. You all are very skilled but it is going to take more than that for us to keep ourselves alive during heavy battles. We will surface to the world when my daughter Sansa’s marriage to Tyrion Lannister is over”

Rhaegar remembered the children said Ned had the liberty of choosing what events were are going to change. 

“And our first target will be the Red Wedding” Ned stated. 

There were lot of gasps and expressions change among the children but Lyanna was clueless. “What is this Red wedding? Are we stopping your daughter’s marriage?” she asked. I mean, it was entirely possible because everyone knows about the imp. 

“No, This is Edmure’s wedding at the Freys where my son Robb was slaughtered along with my wife and many other North Men” Ned declared. 

Lyanna gasped, she also noticed how angry her brother seemed when he said that and she could understand. She was determined to stop that from happening at any cost. 

They concealed themselves with black coats and boarded a ship back to their hideout to wait out and remain away from the world until the time comes, along the way, training to prepare themselves for the upcoming war. 

~Time Skip~

Kings Landing

The capital would be the best example to show a two contrast in the standard of living of people. While one section of the society is extremely poor, the other section is filthy rich. It is not an understatement with the Lannisters on the throne. And Stannis Baratheon’s failed invasion attempt, the city suffered a greater loss by nearly emptying their pockets in producing manpower and weapons to protect the city from the attack. 

The city managed to remain intact, though it cannot be said the same for Stannis and his fleet, it took a heavy tool on the poorer section of the society and an even heavy one on the ruling house. Though the poor went even poor, it didn’t matter much to the capital’s economy but when the Lannisters took a hit, it put a dent in their economy or so it seemed. 

Does Tywin Lannister really shit gold? It seemed the popular mystery around Westeros is not a myth when we see the grand festivities surrounding the castle with Tywin pouring out gold left and right for to make the ceremony of his son’s wedding a real party. 

The Sept of Baelor was crowded with noble men and women as they shower their blessings to the newly married couple Tyrion and Sansa Stark. While the noble lords occupied the place in between, the walls of the sept were manned by servants ready to serve when required. Among the many servants stood Viola and Liza, of course disguised as one of the servants, observing the wedding themselves. During the time they were away from the world and training with Ned and the others, they had grown up a few inches and they both look womanly for anyone to believe. Even Liza that younger sister put on a few weights that compromised for her height which was lower than girls her age. It was convincing enough for people to think she was not a little child. 

“It seems we are the first fortunate children to get the chance of attending our parent’s wedding” Liza stated. 

“Our mother always said this was one of the most hated day in her life, and I can see why” Viola said as they both saw her mother walked down the aisle by King Joffrey Baratheon. “To think that disgusting king is alive makes me so angry for what all he did to our mother. I want to smash his face right now” she said, when she saw Joffrey go out of his way to embarrass her father. 

“You always knew more stuff than me, I guess mother told you a lot more than to me” Liza said, sounding a bit sad. 

Viola sighed, wondering why Liza always worries about things that don’t matter in situations, “I can’t be helped, you were really young after all. Mother didn’t tell me anything as well when I was young” she tried her best to motivate her sister. More than her supporting her little sister, Viola was afraid her sister’s mood will affect the mission. 

Suddenly, the whole sept was full of applauds as the ceremony ended with their parents leaving together, and all the servants were directed to help with the preparations for the dinner party. That was the cue for the sister to go separate ways as both had their own missions. 

“Liza, as planned, you will contact our father while I go to mom. Remember your cover up identity and do not reveal yourself to them until the time comes.” Viola listed some last-minute instructions gave a heart warmth peck in the cheeks of her cute little sister. 

Liza returned the same with a hug, “Be careful. We have come to a dangerous place” 

Viola acknowledged as they both went on their separate ways, eager to complete their mission successfully. 

Riverlands

Parenting takes many forms, but the common factor in all of them is the love for their children. The sooner the children realize, the better their lives will be from that point. Some parents are gifted naturals who have a way with their children that hardly makes room for any conflict while some try their best and work hard to attain that gift. 

There wouldn’t have been many children in Westeros who would fall under the first category but surprisingly, Wulfric and Clay did. It’s not because their Mother was naturally gifted as a parent but from the day they could be aware of their surroundings, their mother was everything for them. They were able to see love in their mother’s way of parenting that no one else did. 

The kind of persons grew up to be can be the evidence of that, as they are now hiding on top of a tree right upon their mother Arya Stark, ready to kill her captor Sandor Clegane sleeping on the other side. 

“Do you think we should let her kill him?” asked Clay, to his brother. 

“No, you idiot. We can’t, besides from the way it turned out, she won’t be able to kill him” Wulfric clarified. Sometimes he wondered who is the assassin. 

“What should we do then?” clay asked. “Our mother looks so young, right now, younger than I had imagined” 

“I heard from Lord Stark that she is only a little older than us right now” said Wulfric as they saw Arya pick up a huge rock. 

“Is she planning on killing him with that? We should do something” clay, clearly getting restless. 

“Shut up and think of a plan” Wulfric, the assassin would usually come up with something but this was a strange situation and he was drawing blanks. There are multiple factors to consider, Frist: he should stop her mother from trying to kill the hound, second: they should do whatever it is without out waking the Hound, Third: they should think of a way to escape with their mother while convincing her they are on her side, Lastly (Not that important): They were told not to reveal their true Identity until the time comes. All these factors involve the hound not being in the picture. 

But it was too late as Arya was caught before she could throw the rock. It seemed the hound was a better captor than they thought. “Wulfric, I am going ahead. It’s up to you to back us up” Clay said and jumped down in front of the Hound and Arya. 

“Let her go, you bastard” Clay shouted, trying his best to sound manly, but didn’t work as planned. 

“The fuck do you want, boy?” the hound said, facing the boy. 

Clay noticed the hound was not carrying his sword which gave them some hope of escaping, IF Wulfric comes up with something. 

“We are here for the girl, release her and I will let you live” Clay declared his terms, still trying his best to show the hound the he was not afraid of him or anything. 

“Huh… so there are more of you fucks out there?” Sandor said, reaching for his sword. 

“That Idiot!!” Wulfric hissed to himself as he jumped in front of the sword blocking the Hound’s path. It was pretty dark and both Clay and Wulfric had their face covered with black cloth masks so it was difficult for the hound to see them in the moonless night. 

“Who are you cunts?” the Hound barked, visibly getting annoyed with the situation. 

Arya wondered who these two were too but it was of little interest to her. She was thinking of a way to escape by herself. 

“That information is need to know. Wulfric, the horse!!” clay shouted to his brother. 

“He just revealed your name” Arya told Wulfric who was next to her. “He maybe an idiot but he has a point” 

Arya, knowing exactly where the horse was, she cut-off the rope and about to climb onto it. 

Figuring out Arya’s plan, Wulfric signalled Clay to go with her. 

Clegane, who figured out as well, tried to get to Arya but he was blocked by Wulfric who drew his sword and started raining down a fury of attacks which kept the Hound busy, while Arya and Clay got on the horse and made a run for it into the dark woods. 

Going a little bit further, “Stop, Lady Arya, Please stop” Clay trying to convince her mother to listen. 

“Don’t call me that” was all Arya said as she was in no mood to stop. All the pleading by Clay had no effect on Arya who was riding away from the forest in top speed taking them further away, Leaving clay with no other choice. 

“Mother!! Please stop. Mother!!” he shouted, as the horse slowed down and stopped finally. 

“What?” asked Arya, confused. “What are you saying?”

“You are my mother. Mine and my brother’s we left behind. We came to save you” Clay screamed with top of his emotions, still thinking Arya was not listening to him. 

“That’s… That’s not possible” says Arya, brushing off all the talks from the boy. 

“My name is Clay Stark and my brother’s name is Wulfric Stark. We are from the future. If you do not believe me, you can ask me anything, I can tell.”

Arya still looked sceptical about the whole Mother-son stuff Clay was saying but she felt the urge to test it out. “What is my Sword’s name?” she asked. She knew the only other person who knew it was Jon, who gave her the sword. 

“It’s Needle, your brother Jon Snow gave it to you when he left for Castle Black” Clay answered, as he removed his mask.

Arya could not understand how it was possible but she knew he was saying the truth after seeing his face. It was very similar to her own face except for his hair, which was also familiar, that made him look manly. She didn’t say anything and got onto the horse. 

“Mother…” Clay was confused by her actions. Did it work.. Did it not work.. He didn’t know. 

“Don’t call me that” Arya said. 

“Lady Arya..” 

“Don’t call me that either” 

“…” clay was silent. 

Arya sighed, “Get on.. We should go back for your brother, I am really worried” 

Clay’s face brightened up as he got onto the horse, “Don’t worry, he is well trained” he says as they both ride back to save Wulfric at full speed. 

 

Yunkai

Under the starry desert sky, a camp was setup heavily guarded by soldiers who were popularly called The Unsullied. 

“Ready to meet your Mother?” Rhaegar asked his Granddaughter. 

“Dying to” Iris responded, ready to sneak into the heavily fortified camp of Daenerys Targaryen. 

 

To Be Continued


	3. When Fire Meets Fire; Wolf Meets Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A\N:
> 
> Reference: Family Chart
> 
> Sansa Stark: 1) Viola Stark (Elder) (Female)  
> 2) Liza Stark (Younger) (Female)
> 
> Arya Stark: 1) Wulfric Stark (Male)  
> 2) Clay Stark (Twins) (Male)
> 
> Brandon Stark: 1) Lucian Stark (Male)
> 
> Jon Snow:1)Wallace Targaryen (Male)  
> 2) Iris Targaryen (Twins) (Female)

To do nothing may often seem the best course of action and many go with the flow. But there are some, based on their personal experience with life, who feel frustrated at the prospect of being able to do nothing or worse doing nothing even when they could do something. 

Daenerys Targaryen could be one of the best, if not the best, shining example for that statement. She realized and believes that History cannot be made by people who do nothing. She truly understands more than anyone that if she wants to attain the glory in life that she desires, then she has to walk down that path no matter how struggling it can be. 

Did she though? If anyone can attest to that, it definitely must be someone who takes over the mantle and continue to walk down the path. And what kind of pressure and weight must that person carry? Only time will tell….or did it already. 

Iris Targaryen was dying to see her mother again, even if the circumstances are much different and her ‘mother’ may not be her mother yet. She didn’t care. She just wanted to see her soon. She knows just being able to see her alive can bring comfort to years of suffering when she was dead. 

“Nervous?” asked Rhaegar, noticing Iris had a strange aura around her. Her could feel her being on the edge so easily, and when they are literally on the edge of a cliff scouting the camp of his sister. 

Iris shifted her attention to the person next to her, “I guess you could say that” she thought for a minute, “I don’t know what I am feeling right now” 

Rhaegar felt it was no use talking and wanted to help her take things off her mind and ease up a bit, “What can you tell me about those men guarding the camp?”

“The Unsullied?” Iris filling in with the correct term. Having spent a lot of time with her mother in the future, she knew everything about them. “They are former slaves, my mother bought from their master and set them free. Even though my mother gave them their right to make their own decisions, each and everyone of them pledged their lives to her” 

Rhaegar could only take in every new information he gets about his sister and not help but feel proud of her every time. “What about their fighting capabilities?” he enquired, wanting to know everything about the men guarding the place he wants to sneak in. While he was talking, he noticed the light in the northern most point of the camp dimmed a bit. He brushed it off as mere coincidence. 

Iris, like every bright child who boast their knowledge, was happy to explain, “Though they were former slaves, their physical strengths can be compared to a soldier of a Westeros powerhouse- lets say The Starks. With just their shield and sphere, they could breakthrough battle formation. And their most common strength is their sheer numbers which allows…” 

In between Iris’s exemplary details and battle specs of the Unsullied, Rhaegar noticed the lights in the eastern point of the camp darken as well proving it was no coincidence. “Ambush” he concluded. 

“Yes, exactly. Their strength in numbers boosts their productivity to execute any co-ordinated Ambush of any scale….” Iris still not nearly done with her explanations didn’t pick up what context Rhaegar was referring to.

“No not that, It’s a signal for an Ambush” he said, signalling Iris to pause for a minute. 

“What?” asked Iris, no clue about what he was talking about. 

“You notice the lights in the each corner of the camp..” he started to explain his theory, “First the lights in the northern point dimmed followed by the lights in the eastern side in the same interval. I know from my vast experience of co-ordinating such missions, it’s a signal” 

Iris was awestruck Rhaegar was able to notice something so random and deduce it’s core purposes. She was truly taken back from the capabilities of these war veterans like Rhaegar or even Lord Stark for that matter. “Then that means the camp is going to come under attack… but from who?” 

“No idea but whoever it is, they must be scouting from the cliff to be able to see the signal pattern.” Rhaegar explained. 

“What do we do now?” asked Iris. 

“There are still two more sides left for the signal to complete. I will find the whoever is Link to the signal. He must be scouting from this cliff just like us. You must get to Daenerys and warn her” Rhaegar said. 

“But…” 

“Go now! You still have time. If I find the Link, we will be able to get more time. Go quickly” Rhaegar shouted and rushed off looking for the Link. 

Iris was thinking of a plan, “Easier said than done.. I just told him what the Unsullied are capable of. How can I sneak in to this camp… Where ever you turn, there is an Unsullied standing” she thought to herself. 

She noticed her mother’s camp was huge and was right at the centre while there were many smaller camps surrounding it, making small trails in between enough for people to walk by. She looked for a trail that had the least number of patrol and found one. There was a huge gap from the western side where hardly anyone was guarding. “Rhaegar was right… this really is serious. I must get to mother quickly” she thought to herself and rushed to the western side to reach her mother’s camp. 

She ran at full speed across the camp, entering from the western side as per her plan and stopping and hiding at every point when one Unsullied soldier walked by. While it seemed convenient for the attackers, it was also easy for her as she reached Daenerys’ tent. Slowly pacing inside, step by step, without making any noise, she found her mother to be bathing. Missandei was also with her. She realised there was no delaying and it has to do this. 

“Your Grace” Iris calmly called out as she walked in front of her mother, alarming both of them. They were both immediately twitched at the sudden intruder, with their senses piqued to its highest degree. “Please remain calm, I am here to help” 

Daenerys didn’t expect anyone entering her private session at all, making her extra cautious at this intruder’s presence. She could make out the Intruder was a girl and her was didn’t mean any harm as it was calm, easing her tension a little bit. “Who are you? How did you get here?” Daenerys asked. The girl was covered with a black cloak and a helmet making it really difficult to identify her. 

Iris expected such questions but she was as nervous as her mother. From Rhaegar’s reactions, he could tell it could be a huge attack and she is here trying her best to save her mother. “My name is Iris and I am here to warn you that your camp is coming under attack” 

Daenerys was still as sceptical as she was earlier, “How do you know this?” she asked. 

“I found there was a signal sent from the camp when I was scouting your camp from top of the cliff… actually my companion did.. so I came here to warn…” Iris noticed her mother became more hostile as she was explaining, “I gave out too much information did I ha ha” she said, giving out a meek laugh trying her best to plead her innocence. 

Daenerys didn’t know what to make of this weird character who appeared out of nowhere. At the very least she didn’t feel threatened by her just like she said but she didn’t want to let her guard down, “You still didn’t tell me who you are and how did you get here… How do I know you are not with the said attackers”? 

Wow she is really sharp, Iris thought to herself. She was amazed at how her mother could be relaxing in the bathtub at a situation like this, “You have to believe me, we do not have much time—” An unsullied soldier entered the camp as she was trying to convince her mother . 

Iris observed him come in and she remained still not knowing what to do next. All sorts of scenario were running through her head. What if her mother sees her as a threat and asks the unsullied to catch her and lock her up.. that would be the worst. But to her surprise, the unsullied removed his helmet and Iris could immediately tell he was not an ally. 

Daenerys was also observing the unsullied enter her camp and she felt it was odd. No unsullied would enter like this without proper announcement of his arrival. But when he removed his helmet, she was able to recognize the man immediately. It was that Daario from the Second Sons. 

The real intruder, in this case, pulled out his sword, “I feel nothing but sorry that such beauty is wasted on a woman who is about to die” he said, ready to kill her.

Daenerys saw the intruder girl, Iris, quickly drew her own sword and stood in line in front of her guarding her. She could tell the girl was telling the truth and the camp was under attack in the hands of the Second Sons. 

Daario was the first to make the move, launching successive attacks on Iris, which the girl was able to block with some quick show of reflexes and strength, without budging. 

Daenerys could see the obvious lack of experience from the girl when she took a hit in the gut when the brute connected his knee in full force. Somehow, she could feel herself rooting for the girl even though they were complete strangers. Was it because the girl intruder was not emitting the evil aura like Daario did? But she had to give credit for the girl who still stood on her ground even after taking such a hit, being able to block the next few attacks and slice her sword in the gap to cut the enemy’s stomach even through the Armor. 

But Iris’s movement had definitely slowed down after taking the hit that she was hardly able to keep up with Daario’s attacks, or so she thought but Daenerys realised it was Daario who increased his speed. It seemed like he finally took this fight seriously by going at the girl with his full power. With hardly being able to keep up with the pace, the girl slipped for a second giving room for the sword to scratch Iris’ shoulder and knock her helmet off when he connected the knee again but this time at her face, forcing the helmet to fly off to the far corner of the tent. Iris fell crashing to the ground. 

Daenerys could feel the girl’s pain inside her and wanted to help her in any way she can, but she herself was in a bit of trouble when Daario shifted his focus to her. She tried to distract him a little, “I knew the Second Sons were savages from the beginning but didn’t expect an ambush like this” 

Daario slowly walking towards Daenerys, “If it is anyone else, we would have killed them immediately but given how beautiful you are, we decided to wait and looks like were truly rewarded” Daario licked his lips as he was seeing a naked Daenerys in the tub. 

Daenerys not budging or scared at the slightest, she gently stood up, entirely revealing to the brute intruder. 

Daario was in ecstasy as he took in the beauty to in its fullest form, feasting on every inch of her body. But that slight moment of distraction put him right where Daenerys wanted. 

“It is only rewarding for those who truly deserve it and it is certainly not you” said Daenerys with a smile as Iris took Daario’s head in one slice and the image took Daenerys by surprise. 

Not the image of a man decapitated in front of her eyes but the image she saw when the headless body fell to the ground. As Iris had her helmet blown away, Daenerys was able to see her face for the first time and it truly shocked her. It was a striking image of herself, probably a bit younger but the exact same. It was like looking at the mirror, “Who… are you?” she asked the girl. Daenerys took the robe Missandei offered, not taking her eyes off the girl even for a second, waiting for her response.

Iris was in pain and anger that she could hardly focus on her surroundings. She had no strength to defend herself with some ridiculous lie and decided to go with the truth, not bothered with the outcome. 

“it may sound crazy but… I am your daughter…from a future time, a distant world. You may not believe me but it’s the truth, you can decide for yourself… this is all I’ve got” Iris answered, still not clear from her battle. 

Daenerys was ready to embrace the truth and she took it in at full force and surprisingly she felt happy in her stomach, her mind, her whole body. “I believe you” she said carefully observing the changing expressions of the girl, “I am sure I become just like that when I am angry” she said… “And like that when I smile”… “And like that when I blush” 

“Please stop” Iris said, finally laughing, and her expressions changed, finally getting over the heated battle, “You do? You really do?” 

Daenerys just nodded, “Yes, I do.. don’t ask me how but I do… you were right, it is crazy” Daenerys was also laughing, out of happiness, she has never felt like this in her entire life. She was loving every moment of it. 

Iris carefully leaped over the headless body on the ground, “I will tell later, we don’t have time. You are under attack, we have to move out of her. Come Missandei” she said as she took the hands of her mother and exited the camp. 

Daenerys eyes Missandei who was also in awe seeing Iris act so familiar towards her and her queen like she knew them for a long time. She lets her daughter lead the way outside the camp when they run into Ser Barristan and Jorah. 

“khaleesi, are you alright?” Jorah came running. “Who is this?”

“It’s fine, she is with me. We are under attack, she came to warn us” Daenerys explained. 

“We were under the same impression. We saw some signal fire in the cliff and thought something was odd. Then we noticed the camp got dim as well so we were on alert, I will take some men with me and check the cliffs” Ser Barristan explains. 

Iris interrupted, “There could be enemies dressed like the unsullied inside the camp, be careful” though, she just remembered about Rhaegar and hoped he was fine. 

Jorah was still sceptical of her and her relation to Daenerys. 

“I trust her, if she says, then we must be careful” Daenerys came in for support, besides it was entirely possible she was right, “Ser jorah, can you handle this for me?” 

“What about you Khaleesi? We have to keep you safe” Jorah said. 

“Don’t worry about me, I have her with me. She just killed the Second Sons’ Lieutenant. You should handle this issue. Just get the second sons out of my camp” she ordered, as both her advisors acknowledged and left. 

“if they are attacking, they will approach from the west, we should escape through south” Iris explained, “I will definitely get you to safety” 

“Of course, I believe you. Plus, I have plenty of questions to ask you” Daenerys responded with a smile. 

Man, she doesn’t look like someone who is under attack, Iris thought to herself, “I expected you would” she laughed it off as both mother & daughter along with Missandei headed south of the camp to their safety. 

 

At Riverlands

This was the first time Arya was riding a Horse all by herself at this speed without being stopped by Ser Rodrick or her Mother, telling to get down. For them, it was not safe for girls to be doing such things. But now she was free and she was truly enjoying he ride. She would be enjoying it even more if it wasn’t for the screaming boy behind her. 

“Waaaaaah, Slow Down!” Clay was screaming on top of his voice. 

“Will you quite down for sometime, my ears are paining” says Arya, “Besides, don’t you want to save your brother?”

“I do, but to do that, I should be alive when I get there” Clay managing to speak, desperately hanging onto the saddle as the horse was getting even faster.

“Oh Stop being such a coward, We should get there before the Hound does something” Arya said. She wondered why she was so worried and wanted to get there as fast as she can. 

“Now that you remind me, I am also starting to worry, What if he kills Wulfric” Clay said. 

Arya could only wonder how he could be her son from the future but she found this side of his really funny, “Are you always like this?” 

“Ever since I was born… But don’t worry, I have recently trained and I will kill the hound if he does anything to my brother” Clay saw his mother scan him once and turn back “At least say something!” he heard her trying very hard to supress her laugh, “It’s not funny!” 

Arya can’t get enough of this boy but realized they were close, “here is the plan, when we get close, we are not stopping at all. We charge in straight at full speed. Your task is to pick him up quickly onto the horse and try to make sure the Hound doesn’t follow us. And we escape” 

“What will you do?” asked Clay. 

“I will be riding the Horse” Arya innocently answered. 

“that’s not enough!” Clay couldn’t believe his eyes. To think his mother, the ruthless coldblooded assassin was like this when she was her age, it was cute but taxing. 

They finally reached the area and didn’t drop their speed even a bit. Clay was mentally preparing himself to execute his mother’s ridiculously one-sided plan when the horse stopped suddenly sending him flying to the ground. 

Ouch!! Clay landed on his bottom after mixing in a few rolls on the ground, “What happened to your plan?!” Clay asked his mother. 

“Look” Arya said, pointing ahead. 

Clay turned to see Wulfric was sitting next to a Bonfire enjoying a nice piece of chicken, “What in the seven hell are you doing?” Wulfric looked up and noticed his brother was back, and his mother too, still biting his chicken, “Stop eating so calmly!!… Where is the hound?” 

“he went to get another horse” Wulfric answered, still biting his chicken. 

“WHY??!!”

“I told him if he helps us, I will get him to work for the Starks and also get his ransom” Wulfric said. 

“What? Why would you tell him that?” Clay asked. 

“It’s a pain to fight that beast, if you want to kill him, go ahead and do it yourself” Wulfric answered. 

Arya was having a hard time to follow these two, but it somehow reminded her about her little quirks with her sister.

“I won’t agree to this, I can’t sleep with a guy like him travelling with us, Mother tell him” Clay was desperate for some support in this argument. 

But Wulfric caught a different one, “You TOLD HER??” he was caught off-guard. She knows Wulfric was her son and he wasn’t prepared for it yet. His heart was beating too fast for an assassin.

Oops, clay thought to himself, “well she wouldn’t listen to me” he tried to reason with his brother. 

Arya was didn’t really care which side she wanted to weigh in, “I don’t care, I am going to Kings landing” 

“Yes, see she is going to Kings landin--…What? Why would you want to go there?” Clay visibly flustered. 

“To kill Joffrey and Cersei” 

“Don’t !!” 

“I decide where I want to go” Arya was quite stubborn.   
“Why do you want to kill them?” Asked Clay, when Wulfric nudged him on his side. Clay really was slow when it came to reading the lines. 

“They killed my father” Arya said, trying to get on the horse, that’s when clay realised what was going on. He let Wulfric handle it from here. 

“Your father is not dead” Wulfric told his mother. After everything she knows, this is not some big secret to hide. 

“What? I saw him at the executioner’s block” Arya very sound on her memories. She had been replaying the same scene every-night before her sleep. 

“It’s not your father, it’s someone who looks like Lord Stark. He is alive, we saved him, now he is leading our mission. We are going to regroup with him” Wulfric explained. 

Arya was for once speechless, she already believes these two boys are her sons so it shouldn’t be too much to believe her father is alive. She wanted to test this out too, without any delay. “Where are we going?” she asked her son. 

“To the Twins, we will meet Lord Stark half way there so that together, we can stop your Brother and your Mother from being butchered” Wulfric answered. 

Arya gasped. It made total since. They were from the future so they would know something like that. Her initial shock turned into curiosity and excitement. 

“You fucks ready?” the Hound appeared with a horse just like he said he would. Arya nodded to Wulfric in agreement with his plan. 

Clay couldn’t help but be afraid of the Hound, who wouldn’t…he knew for sure it was going to be one hell of a journey to remember. 

To Be Continued


	4. Like Father Like Children

They say “Knowledge is power.” It is not just one among many sophisticated sayings that comes from the mouth of a drunken man. People often do not realize the weight if information they possess, which more often lead to a defeat in wars both physical and psychological. 

But what happens to a person who knows everything about everyone in the world? Is it still a valued possession? 

An average human being will work hard and struggle his whole life to find the hidden door that reveals his true self which shapes his character and ultimately shapes his life too. But what will happen to a person’s own life when he has the ability to open doors of millions of people and read it like an open book? Will he be able to find his way back to his own door? How will that effect the person’s own life and the people around him? What will be the fate of the person in question? If anyone can answer these questions, it should be Brandon Stark.

 

Nearby the Gift

“The wildlings are gone” said Bran, after warging into summer to check the situation outside the tower he was hiding along with his companions. 

“With the way the giant was screaming, I was sure we would have been caught by the wildlings” says Osha, one of their kind. 

“We were lucky Bran was able to warg into Hodor and silence him” Meera Reed chipped. 

Bran turned to his anxious younger brother to ease him out of the tense situation they were in, “Rickon, when I warged into Summer, I saw Jon” 

Rickon’s face brightened up immediately, “Really? How was he?” 

“I don’t know, he was attacked by a group of wildlings… but he managed to escape” Bran explained. 

“If your brother had escaped, then he must be heading to castle black. That’s where we must go” Osha, keen on fulfilling Maester Luwin’s final request to take the stark boys safe to their brother. 

“No Osha, I can’t. I have to go beyond the wall to find the Three-Eyed Raven” Bran who was also keen on fulfilling what he thinks is his destiny. 

“What are you saying boy? If you want to go no matter what, why not go after we meet your brother?” Osha not backing down. 

“Because I know Jon, if he finds out, he will never let me go” says Bran.

“Of course, he wouldn’t! any sane man who knows what is there beyond the wall will know well stay clear. I was running from there the first place. I cannot go back there” Osha said. 

“I know, and it was never my wish to put you in harms way Osha. You have already helped me a lot with my selfish requests and If I can, I would like to ask you of one final request. Please take my brother to Last Hearth, the home of House Umber” Bran said. 

“No!! I don’t want to leave you” Rickon immediately disapproves of Bran’s plan. 

Before Bran tries to convince his brother, Meera and Jojen Reed were on alert, “Shh, people coming” warns Meera. 

“Are the wildlings back?” asked Bran, while Osha was covering Rickon’s mouth, trying to keep him quiet. 

“No, this doesn’t seem to be the wildlings, they are covered in Black coats. We cannot see their faces.” Explains Meera. 

“How many are there?” asks Bran.

“Four of them. And they already got past the wolves, in fact the wolves didn’t attack” answers Jojen” 

“Bran, can you warg into them?” asks Meera. 

“No, I just used all my strength on Summer and Hodor. I can’t” says Bran, as they hear footsteps, climbing the steps, inching closer every second.

The whole group was high on alert as they were read in attacking mode to defend any intruders. Jojen and Meera immediately covered Bran while osha was covering Rickon. They heard the door open and four people stood at the entrance. 

“Who are you people? What do you want?” asks Meera. 

“Who is the leader of this group?” asks the tallest person among the intruders. 

Both Meera and Jojen looks at Bran, waiting for his move, “I am Brandon Stark, Lord of Winterfell” bran announces. 

The intruder takes a step forward making the group immediately on alert, ready to attack, “I was always waiting for the day to come when I see you as the Lord of Winterfell, I feel proud Bran” 

Bran was in for a surprise as he could clearly recognise the voice, even though he hadn’t heard ever since he fell down from the tower, “That voice… it can’t be” 

The intruder slowly removed his hood, revealing his face to the group who were equally surprised as bran was after seeing it. 

“It’s been a long time, bran” says Ned. 

“Father!!” Rickon was the first to react as he Ran to Ned and gave him a Hug, and one can’t blame him, as he is seeing him for the first time ever since he left Winterfell to be Hand of the King to Robert Baratheon, not to mention the fact that it was announced to whole of Westeros about his execution at the hands of the Lannister’s. 

Ned just hugged his son back, “You did well to survive, Rickon. I am glad you did” 

Booth the Reed siblings protecting Bran were on their knees, “Lord Stark, it is an honour to meet you. My name is Jojen Reed and This is my sister Meera” 

“Please rise, your father is a close friend of mine, I thank you both for being with my son at the time of crisis” Ned praised them.

“How is this possible father? Everyone said you were killed by the Lannisters…” Bran, still couldn’t believe his father was alive, though he was glad. 

“There isn’t much time for explanations. I can only say that the person who died that day was not me. Besides, it is not just me” Ned hinted at the person standing next to him, who complied and removed the hood, “This is my sister” Ned told Bran. 

“Aunt Lyanna…” was all Bran could manage…

“Who?” was all Rickon could think. 

Lyanna knelt down to Rickon’s face level, “I am your father’s sister lyanna stark. You are cute so cute my dear nephew” making Rickon smile. “And you too, little lord” she told Bran who was still on the ground. She had heard what happened on the way from Ned and Lucian who was also present right next to her along with Wallace. She wondered if it was hard for him even though he can see his father and mother right in front of him. 

“I am not a lord anymore. Father, Theon took Winterfell and he killed Ser Rodrick and Maester Luwin along with many of our loyal people, I am sorry there was nothing I could do as their Lord. Robb trusted me to protect the castle but I failed” said Bran. 

Ned always had high expectations for Bran just like he did for all his children. He always watches Bran tarn when ever he finds time and always within himself hope for his son to succeed when he didn’t. 

“Don’t worry Bran, it was not your fault but mine, those are responsibilities I dumped on my children and I intend to make up for it. Don’t worry about Winterfell, we will take our home back. Robb is out there fighting my battles, soon we will join him” Ned explained. 

“Father… I have to go beyond he wall…I have to go” Bran tried to convince his father. Just like Jon, there was slim chance he would agree and let him go to a dangerous place. 

Ned had already heard the story from Lucian so he was aware of what his son was saying, “I understand, I didn’t come here to stop you. However, I will take Rickon with me”

Bran was surprised his father allowed him so easily, In fact it almost seemed like he knew and came here to get Rickon, “Please take Osha as well, she saved my life” 

Ned didn’t know that but of course he agreed. After all, until they save Robb, he did need someone to look after Rickon.

“And, I saw Jon a while back…” Bran was telling Ned which had an impact on three people in the room, Ned, Lyanna and Wallace, it is hard to tell who had the greater one, they remained silent for bran to continue, “I didn’t meet him but he was surrounded by a group of Wildlings but he fought and escaped, he must be on his way to Castle Black. We ourselves were going there but if Jon knew I was going beyond the wall, He would never allow so I decided not to go see him” 

Lyanna’s whole body was trembling with excitement, she missed her son just by a few hours even though he was so close by. From the way Ned’s son spoke of Jon, it was evident that they loved and cared for him just like Jon cared for them. 

Wallace was happy to get some information on his father for the first time after coming here. Putting together the timeline, he got the idea that this was around the time his father returned from his expedition beyond the wall. It means that the war with Mance Rayder was close. 

Ned was just as happy to get some information about Jon’s current whereabouts. Ever since the Stark children saved him from the execution, he got information on all of his children but only Jon he didn’t have a clue. Even Wallace couldn’t put together where Jon must be at this time. Knowing he will be in Castle Black was a relief. 

“It is good to know Bran. We are running out of time, we have to go. Bran, be careful on your journey beyond the wall, it is no doubt dangerous… Meera and Jojen, take care of my son.. Hodor too” Ned told them, he saw Lucian approach Bran.

“Please take this, it will be useful” Lucian handed a weapon to his father. It sucks for him that he cannot tell his father about who he truly is but he wanted to at least know that he was thinking of his well being. 

“What is this?” asked Bran, receiving the weapon from this boy who was around his same height, “who are you?”

“My name is Lucian… I work for Lord Stark… And I am lending you my weapon, it is a multi-use crossbow and these are specially made bolts” Lucian handed a long roll of bolts to his father. 

“Why are you giving it to me?” asked Bran, slightly confused although happy about the weapon. 

“let us just say I am an admirer of your character and personality and determination to overcome the odds” Lucian said, which didn’t mean anything to Bran, which he knew but he realised one day Bran would know who Lucian is and he will remember this. 

Bran didn’t know what he meant but was happy, “Lucian, Thank you” 

Ned was happy for both Bran and Lucian. This was the first time he is seeing his children together with their future children. It was truly a touching moment for him as a father and as a grandfather. He soon said their farewells and took Rickon with him and left. 

Outside going a bit farther, he caught up with Wallace and Lyanna who was walking up front, “Lyanna, I know I said Robb comes first but if you want to see Jon, I won’t stop you” 

Lyanna was touched by her brother’s thoughts, “Ned, I already told you I am fully committed to save you son at any cost. I will do everything in my power to prevent you son’s death, we are family right, what do you think Wallace?”

Wallace just laughed, “My father is not going to go anywhere, we will definitely save Uncle Robb” 

Ned was truly touched. This is the kind of family he worked hard to build and he was happy that it had extended to the next generation as well. 

“So, Lord Stark, what is the plan?” asked Wallace. 

“As soon as we meet up Arya, we will commence out strategy to invade the Freys and save Robb” Ned said, Although there was only four of them as Rickon will not be helpful though his direwolf might, when Arya and her children arrive, it will be six. It will be perfect to execute the strategy. He knew as per the plans, Arya should arrive anytime soon. 

He saw the Morale of the group and it felt good, Lucian was feeling great despite not being able to reveal himself to his father. He felt more refreshed right now better than he did after the training, while Wallace and Lyanna were also better motivated after getting information about Jon. “Stay strong Jon, as you have always been… We are coming for you soon” he thought to himself also remembered the promise he made. It made him think of his future bride, the Targaryen girl. Looking back, he was glad Robert wasn’t able to kill her, “The day we meet again will soon come”

 

At Kings Landing

What makes children listen or obey their parents? It is said that it comes down the basic rule of being an adult. For children, every parent is their hero because that’s the status parents get after gaining all the experience in their own life and becoming experts in managing them. But what will happen when the children get to see a version of their parents, before they were their glorified selves, just a shell of their future version. 

Viola, knocked onto the chambers of Sansa Stark, which her mother always use to refer as a luxurious prison cell, of course referring to herself as the prisoner. Sansa opened he door and let her in as Viola was dressed in the similar robes all servants do in the capital.

“Lady Sansa, My name is Viola. Starting today, I will be replacing Shae, as your personal servant. Please feel free to use me as you please” Viola said. 

Sansa took one look and noticed she looked pretty for a servant but didn’t think deep into it. She made it a point not to trust any servants in this place where anyone can stab you in the back at anytime with the slightest opportunity. She just spoke to her normally and had her help with the daily routine. It was a week after her wedding and she was still getting used to be referred as Lord Tyrion’s husband. She doesn’t particularly hate Tyrion, she was grateful that he was so understanding and a kind person which was surprising for a Lannister, but it is just that she also didn’t feel any love towards him. 

After Viola, the new servant, helped her get ready so quickly it made Sansa wonder about this girl. It is like she exactly knew what Sansa liked and did everything so perfectly. Little did she know that Viola was in fact her daughter from the future who helps her mother the Lady of Winterfell, get ready. It was more like they help each other. Liza was not really into all these. 

“You did really great, thank you” Sansa had to complement even though it was so outside her character, she wondered if staying in this kingdom as a prisoner made her relish the slightest good things that happens to her. 

But that one line made Viola’s heart skip a beat, to be able to get praised by her mother. She looked through the door to make sure no one was there and spoke to her mother, “Lady Sansa, the truth is, I work for the Starks. King Robb sent me here to keep you company and protect you. I swear I will put my life on the line to keep you safe” 

Sansa was surprised but it made sense how she knew everything about her. It made her happy that her brother was thinking about her and even sent someone to keep her safe. 

Only Viola knew how hard it was to not reveal herself to Sansa as ordered by Lord Stark. She was impressed that Lord Stark was able to come up with such a great cover identity which is not only easy for her to blend in but also puts her mother at ease from getting homesick. 

Ever since that, she got along with Sansa although at times she was bossy and completely unreasonable. She just hoped her sister had the similar luck with her mission. 

Tyrion was taking a walk around the castle depressed with the turn of events in his life. It felt for him that he was just a puppet dancing to his father’s and sister’s tune, which is not true. He felt to be the unluckiest groom to have his marriage situation turn out this way. He loved shae which made him treat Sansa respectfully to give her the space she needs at these turbulent times. But at the same time, he also swore to protect her at any cost from any threats from his sister or her miserable brat. 

He saw his squire waiting for him, “Podrick, what keeps you awake so early in the morning? Some unfinished business at the brothel?” 

“No my Lord, I have brought you your new squire who will be assisting along with me” Podrick said. 

Tyrion looked at a young girl standing next to podrick, “Why do I need another squire?” 

He was surprised the girl spoke, “While Podrick here tends to the more physical stuff, I help you with things that require knowledge” 

She has courage he gave her that but, “Do you really think you will be able to assist me with knowledge-based things? How about a test…” he asked her some series of questions which she answered perfectly. “Alright you are Hired” he told her much to her joy. He wondered what made her so happy that too to be his servant. 

The rest of the morning, Tyrion observed the work his new squire did and it was nothing short of impressive. She helped him read through the capital’s finances, dealing with a few merchants which she was highly skilled at and most impressive aspect was that she was good and gambling when she helped him skim out the pockets of other noble men who had a passion for gambling but lack the skill. 

But every time his squire’s skills seems to impress him, it also created an unknown feeling that he couldn’t shake off. There was something about her and he wanted to test it out, “There is something I need your help, if you could give me a solution to my long standing issue, I will give you a reward, I am planning on re-structuring the capitals water movement to help enhance inside route when we need to attack it if that time ever comes, what do you suggest, based on your knowledge” 

He saw her think hard and say, “I would suggest going with the similar designed used in Casterly Rock” she explained which left him stunned and impressed again. 

“That was indeed what was pestering me, you did great. For your efforts and skills, I have the perfect reward for you, follow me” he led her into the deeper part of Kings landing that only he knew and led her into a secret room. 

When his squire entered, he quickly locked the door behind him, “Lord Tyrion, what are you doing?” the asked in panic, her panic grew even more when she saw him draw a sword. 

“I may not look like it but my fighting skills are quite good, now tell me the truth, who are you really?... You did great to keep your identity which is another one of your impressive skill but you let it slip because you are too perfect. I know it because I am like that too” Tyrion explained, though he didn’t get any response from the scared girl, which made him confused. Usually spies are more adept in dealing with such situations. He decided to push further for answers, “Do you want to know how you slipped? The last question I asked was to trick you, it is something I haven’t revealed to anyone. So where did you get the knowledge of such design that I did in Casterly rock?” he could see it it her that she was tricked which only made her more scared, thus making him more confused by her unique personality. He could not quite understand her actions so far. 

When he waited for response but didn’t get one, he hated doing it but went to swing the sword at her when she finally spoke, “It was you.. You only told me about it” 

Tyrion stopped, “What? How is that possible? This is the first time I am meeting you” he told her but on the inside he wondered if he had met her before in any of the brothels and let it slip… It seemed entirely possible. 

“Not now but in a future time, you told me when you were teaching me about how to find weak points of a castle or kingdom, and where to look for them… Because you are my father” the girl said. 

Tyrion couldn’t comprehend what the girl said, “So the name you told me was also a lie?” he asked to which the girl simply nodded, now fully crying… is she really her daughter? From the future? “Tell me something personal about me that I told you in the future but I would know now?” he asked her. 

The girl thought for somemore time and said, “Your dream is to have your own vineyard” she said that left him startled. This girl was telling the truth.

“Who is your mother?” he asked. “What is your name?”

“Sansa Stark.. My name is Liza Stark” she answered, still crying. 

Tyrion felt bad, that he made his daughter cry and scared her, “Come on, stand up…” he gave her a hand as she stood up. He let her sit on a small wooden bench so that’s he was at face level with him.. now that he looks at her, she did share some resemblance with Sansa and even him, “If you are from the future, what are you doing here?” Tyrion asked. 

Liza explained everything about saving Ned Stark and that he gave her a mission in the capital. Though she left out the part of resurrecting Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar. 

Tyrion was astonished to find out Ned stark survived and kind of felt relieved for him, He did feel he was killed wrongly and it did bother him irrespective of the fact that his wife tried to have him killed. He saw his daughter still crying, “Come on now, you can stop crying… I am sorry that I scared you, but we are good now, I believe you so stop crying, it makes me feel bad too” 

Liza looked at her father, as kind and understanding as he was in the future. Her father had never changed throughout his life, he even caught her in the act which she admired but was also the problem, “Lord Stark told me specifically not to reveal my identity and I failed” she said, crying even more. 

Tyrion tried to console her, “I am sure Ned Stark is not the kind to punish for this, if you want he doesn’t have to know, it will be our secret, no one can know about this, Afterall it is only you and me” 

“No, my sister will know and she will get mad” Liza answered which was another bombshell for Tyrion. 

“What sister? You have a sister? I have another daughter?” 

“Yes, she is my older sister, she should be currently with mother, as per her mission” Liza explained. 

Tyrion was stunned with no words, “Come, wipe your tears, let us go see her” he told her and wiped the tears from his daughter’s eyes. 

“No, I am not supposed to meet her yet, and she will know that you found out about us…and my Mother can Never know” Liza was panicking again. 

“Relax, relax… no one will know, we will see them from distance… I just.. I just want to see” Tyrion convinced her. 

Liza was able to understand her father’s feelings so she agreed and they went near the garden where they spotted Viola with Sansa helping her pick flowers, “What is her name?” asked Tyrion. 

“Viola..Viola Stark” Liza explained. 

Tyrion was stunned, She resembled him more than she did of her mother. The exact opposite of Liza… She has Sansa’s hair but his features…she was so beautiful… Liza had his hair but had more features of Sansa…

He was alone with Liza and was observing his other daughter from far and it really made him happy. He wished he could meet her soon but he respected their wishes, “So what is you mission?” he asked Liza… “What mission did Ned Stark give you?”

“We are mainly here to help you both when bad things happen while Lord Stark gave us another mission, to get a sample of the Wildfire” Liza answered. 

Tyrion was surprised Ned Stark knew about it but it makes sense if he had escaped execution, he would have heard about the Stannis’s attack… He always knew Ned Stark was a cunning person. “Alright, Let’s begin” he told Liza..

Liza didn’t understand what her father was trying to say, “What do you mean?”

“I can’t let my daughter handle such a dangerous mission alone… It is the duty of the father to protect her” He told her with a smile that even Liza had never seen before, she jumped and gave him a hug, “Wow remember, you are still my squire” 

“Oh Apologies Lord Tyrion” she said, jokingly as she got the best ally she could have imagined for the mission and Liza looked forward to the times working with her father. 

Near the Twins

“Lord Stark, It is them. They have arrived” Wallace informed Ned. 

Ned was happy, “Alright, earlier Lucian reported Robb and my wife had already entered the Freys castle. Looks like Arya made it in time as well” 

To Be Continued


	5. Between Life and Death, There is Hope

Chapter 05:

 

Near The Twins

It is said that you truly believe something only when you see it with your own eyes. When you did see it and all this time believe it really did happen, what if someone comes and says it is not true? Now, if it is something bad, you would be deranged to here it is not over, but on the contrary, if it is something close to your heart, you would give anything to hope that what you saw was not true, even though you did see it. Hope is what fuels men’s journey on their path to glory and success. Hope is the down-payment every adventurer who seeks treasure. Hope is what makes kings go mad. And finally, hope is what makes life unpredictable. 

 

Arya was closely following her son Wulfric’s trail as they were getting close to their rendezvous with her father. They were on foot for quite a while after mounting down from their horses at a barn where there were several more horses which made her wonder what they were for. And they were suddenly at halt, “Why are you stopping?” 

“Clay, the lamp” Wulfric asks his brother, who was ready with it as if it were all planned in advance. 

Hiding behind a tree, Wulfric lit the lamp and stretched his hands far away so that only the lamp was visible. 

“What are you doin—” Arya was asking, clearly clueless as to what her future sons were up to, when an arrow, from somewhere hit the lamp, putting it off, “What was that?”

“A signal” Wulfric answered, “Meaning, we have reached our destination. Let’s go” 

It was only her and her sons as Wulfric had asked the Hound to wait at the same place near the tree. Arya’s heart was beating faster and faster as they inched closer and closer to the truth about her father. When they finally stopped, they stood facing four people covered in black and the Man in the middle revealed his face, and there it was… the moment of truth.. her sons were not lying… it was her eyes that deceived her… It was truly her father with his head intact… “Fa..ther” 

“My little princess… come here” Ned opened up his arms and saw Arya didn’t hesitate a moment to embrace him, “I am glad you are safe”

“Father…” she was actually crying “I saw them kill you… Joffrey and Cersei…I saw you die” 

“I am sorry you had to see that… I am sorry I left you alone at such a dangerous place…” Ned could only console her by apologising to her and he hated it… he wondered why it was much easier when he met Bran, perhaps because he still looked like Bran, but his heart sank when he saw Arya, his beautiful girl, cut off her hair, dressed like a scared boy who was help captive.   
“Sansa… she was also there… is she safe?” asked Arya, she didn’t know why she felt the need to ask about her sister. 

“I don’t know, but I am sure she is safe… she is your sister after all…” Ned could see Arya, who always fought with Sansa felt a strong connection when he complimented them… It is a language only those two would understand. “I promise you, you will see her soon… but for now, there is someone else you might be happy to see” Ned moved aside and saw Arya’s face lit up seeing Rickon. And she could also see the boy next to reckon and she could recognize him too.

“Rickon!!” Arya was delighted to see her little brother after a long time, “What are you doing here?” 

“Theon captured Winterfell… I managed to escape with Bran.” Rickon answered. 

Arya jumped and hugged the boy next to Rickon, “Bran its so great to see you” Arya said clearly excited, “You can walk again, that’s great” 

Lucian was a statue, not knowing how to react. It is not everyday a girl around his age, at least in this time, jumps onto him. Normally he should feel weird with the fact that Arya was his Aunt by relation but having known Jon and Daenerys, it almost seemed perfectly normal. 

Lyanna could only laugh, “That is not your brother dear” 

Arya was stunned to see her, “Aunt Lyanna, you are here too?” She let go of Lucian confused, “What do you mean? He looks just like him” 

“That’s because he is his son from the future…Lucian Stark. Just like your two boys over there” Lyanna said pointing to Wulfric and Clay. 

Arya felt shy with the mention of her sons. She didn’t think much about it on their journey together but when other people mentions that, it sure made her feel shy. She could understand why she mistook that boy for her brother… Now that she looks closer, his hair was slightly different.., more blackish. She didn’t think there were others just like her sons, who came from the future, which only made her even more curious, “Then where is Bran? Is he here too?”

“No he is not, but he is safe…right now we need to—” Ned tried to talk when his sister interrupted him. 

“So you are Arya… I have heard so much about you from Wulfric and Clay… I take it you are a lot like me” Lyanna said as she took off her hood. 

 

 

“Lyanna, we will talk more later… Right now, we have to move as we don’t have much time to lose” Ned explained as he knew it will take a long time if they just stand here exchanging pleasantries. He understands they are all seeing each other after a long time but Robb had already entered the Frey’s castle. Just then, he saw Wulfric and Clay arguing with each other.

“You tell him”

“No you tell him, you are the one who brought him”

“What now…” Ned thought to himself, “Tell me what?” he asked the boys.

The boys were surprised Lord Stark heard them, Wulfric gave in and started to explain, “Speaking of which, Lord Stark, we brought the Hound with us… He said he would fight for the starks as long as we pay his ransom” Wulfric told him. 

“Ransom?” Ned asked, and then only he remembered Arya was a captive, “Ah right…that” he hadn’t planned for this but it did seem useful. He didn’t approve of the Hound’s methods but as the name suggests, he is loyal to those that reward him, until they reward him, “Alright, I will handle it… Before that, let us go through the plan once more” he said looking at Wallace who started to explain. 

Arya wondered who he was as he still had his face hidden. She could tell he might also be from the future but tried to guess whose son he was, but couldn’t get the connection as he seemed lot older than bran’s son or even her own. Based on his height, she guessed he might be at Robb’s age. 

“We know where the gathering is going to be at the castle and we know that Robb Stark and Catelyn Stark are going to be murdered along with other north men…” Wallace started to explain and Arya already felt the impact. She realized this is what Wulfric mentioned earlier. “… but we do not know anything about how they were killed or even the sequence of events that is going to happen, so we have to be on our positions before it starts… Wulfric and Clay, explain your positions again” Wallace asked. 

“We sneak in as helpers in the kitchen to get access to the rundown storage room next the hall where the ceremony is taking place…” Started Wulfric.

“And Using Lord Stark’s network, we have placed heavy barrels of coal mixed with chilli-pepper, one of my father’s inventions, beforehand in the storage room. Once we get the signal, we light it up and it goes boom… the greater part of the castle and mainly the hall will we covered in smoke” Clay continued.

“Right, that is our exit strategy. Before we get there, Lord Stark and Lyanna Stark act swiftly to secure the hall, keeping Robb Stark and the other safe while also alerting them of the incoming danger. To do that, we need a distraction, which will be handled by Arya” Wallace continued. 

Arya looked stunned, knowing that she was central to the plan to succeed, “Me?” she asked in surprise. 

Wulfric explains, “Yes, you will sneak in along with us as a kitchen girl and at the time of the ceremony, you will have to place yourself right next to Walder Frey. You will wait for the moment and Upon signal, you will have a knife at his throat, which will cause a moment of distraction where all frey men will have their eyes on their leader, to allow Lord Stark and Lyanna to secure the floor”

“That’s where I come into play” Lucian began to explain his position, “The moment you have Walder Frey hostage, Wallace and I will kill the men protecting the old man and block the way so that there will be no back up, meaning no one can get past us to get to you”

“Correct, for the final step, once the floor is secure and Uncle Robb and Lady Stark are safe, upon signal, Wulfric and Clay will light the barrels and join us in the hall which will be our signal to escape quickly when the hall is covered in smoke. I will escape with Arya and Lucian while the others will escape with Lord Stark’s group. The hound will be outside alerting the stark men and escape with us and our meeting point will be the barn a further from here. Rickon and Osha will have the horses ready for us to escape to the camp where a large number of Stark’s bannermen are” Wallace summarised. 

Ned was satisfied with his little army and added a few words in the end, “Be confident out there, in war everything happens really fast and sometimes things go south before you notice. The key is to remain calm and not to panic. We have rehearsed the plan several times in training. I am confident, with your skills, we can successfully save Robb” 

If Ned had to be worried for one aspect, it was Arya, the only one to have rehearsed the strategy and she is central to the plan. He hoped she would not be nervous. He saw her talking with her sons.

“Who is he?” Arya asked Wulfric, still not being able to make the connection. She realised he can’t be Robb’s son as he would die tonight as per the future, so she wondered if he was Sansa’s given his height. 

“That is Wallace, son of Jon Snow” Lyanna answered, hearing Arya’s question. When she saw Arya’s face light up even more, she could fell how happy she must be. Arya’s happiness was overflowing and it was reaching all the way to her, “Are you nervous?” 

Arya felt stupid being asked that question as she was trying her best to hide her excitement. She heard the story from Wulfric on her way here that the Lannisters were behind Robb’s murder in the future which made her all the angrier after what they did to her family. She was waiting for the opportunity to make them pay and she finally got her chance, “Just a little”

Ned knew right away she wasn’t at the least nervous at all, which put his mind at ease, “It seems like I was worried for nothing” he thought to himself. 

“Alright, Move to your positions, and Good Luck” Ned declared as he saw everyone disperse. He himself went to speak to the hound and will join Lyanna soon when he is done. 

 

At The Twins Castle

Robb Stark was having a pleasant evening, after the bedding ceremony with his wife as they were all present for the grand celebrations at the hall. He saw Walder Frey was high on top at his initial seat overseeing the celebrations and enjoying himself. Everything was normal and Robb was happy things were going according to his plan. After the recent tough times of losing the two Lannister boys leading to the beheading of Lord Karstark which resulted in losing a portion of his bannermen. Before that, the loss of Winterfell made him look weak and also worry about the safety of his Brothers Bran and Rickon. 

He felt guilty every night before his sleep as he was the one who left Bran at Winterfell despite his pleas of joining him. At that time, Robb had felt the place of war was not safe for Bran, a cripple and Rickon, who was too young to face these situations. Little did he expect Theon to betray him like that and now he lost the castle to the ironborn. 

All these series of setbacks forced him to show up at House Frey apologising for breaking his oath and Marrying his beautiful wife whom he had loved with all his heart. He never meant to dishonour the promise he made nor justify the same promise he broke, but as a King, he was hoping to explain about love can make a man do to a creep like Walder Frey who has married several women of different ages. That very fact should make anyone hesitate to take a girl from his family, let alone King Robb.

But here he was, having a great time with his wife, deciding on a name for his soon to be born child, so innocent, so graceful and little did he know, so naïve. His moment of celebrations took a turn for the worst as he saw his mother suddenly rise up from her seat and warn him so something. He couldn’t quite hear what she was trying to say but from her expressions, he could make out that something bad was about to happen. He was immediately on alert as he stood up to guard his wife when he noticed a few men from the balcony above him take aim, armed with crossbows. 

There were a handful of Frey men who surrounded him, waiting for the chance to kill him. His mother was a few inches away and also he was not close to his wife. He saw a man approaching his wife clearly with the intent to kill her.

He realised he was a step too late and didn’t know if he has the time to react and protect his wife, at that moment, he knew it was all over… He knew everything he did till now went in vain. He knew, at that moment, he was going to die. It was only a few seconds away but a lot of scenarios played in his mind… What will happen to his mother and his wife after his death… What will happen to his home Winterfell if he dies…. What will happen to his sister Sansa if he is killed, who will be left all alone… What will happen to all his bannermen and other northern Lords who called him their king and followed him here… What will happen to his quest to take revenge for his father’s death at the hands of the Lannisters… What will be the future of House Stark if he dies… “Jon” he thought to himself… He wondered if Jon was alive right now. He wondered what kind of battle he was in right now… He wondered if it was Jon, would he fail just like how he was about to fail right now… If it was Jon, would he have noticed Theon’s Betrayal… Would he have noticed Roose Bolton’s betrayal…Would he have avenged their father’s death… At that moment, he wished he had Jon with him at his side… he knew with Jon at his side, nothing bad would happen to him… He wished he could have introduced his wife and his soon to be born child to Jon…When they were little kids, they both vowed, as eldest among their siblings, to protect their family when they grow up. “I am sorry Jon” he thought to himself. He hated it but he had no choice but leave everything to him… everything he couldn’t do, he truly believed Jon would be able to… He was preparing for his death…

That’s when he heard a loud scream, “DROP YOUR WEAPONS” echoing through the hall, as all heads turned to the source of the scream and everyone were surprised to see a girl holding a knife at Walder Frey’s throat, “ANY BODY MAKE A MOVE, HE’s DEAD” he heard the girl declare, so bravely with no hesitation in her voice. Everything came to a standstill at the voice of this ferocious girl. 

Robb felt his life was coming back to him, his heartbeat slowing down back to normal speed, as he looked around. His pregnant wife was alive; his mother was alive; the northern lords were alive. He saw the girl next to Walder Frey peel off her face and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, “ARYA!!” Robb’s own scream broke the standstill as tension in the air grew further, but this time on their enemy’s side. 

Catelyn was beyond words to see her daughter, who was presumed to be dead after her father was executed at King’s Landing, hold a knife at the old bastard’s throat. Catelyn was fully aware that he daughter just saved her whole family. She didn’t understand where did she come from and how she got to her position but a wave of relief overtook her. 

Just as the Frey men were contemplating if they have to make a move to save their Lord or not, Ned and Lyanna, covered in black emerged from the crowd behind King Robb at great speed. Ned showed great movement to reach for his wife in a swift fending off Frey men along the way and eventually he secured his wife’s safety and closely stood by her.

Lyanna didn’t waste much time either as she was quick to kill the man who was approaching the pregnant woman and fended off two other soldiers, making room for the northern lords to free themselves who were adept at taking care of the rest of the soldiers. 

The Freys knew the key was to release Walder Frey as they made their way to kill Arya when two more people stood in their way. 

Wallace showed his quick swordsmanship to kill two of the Frey men right below the high seat where Walder Frey was seated, securing the path so that no one can get through to Arya. While Lucian with his spare normal crossbow, killed off the men in the balcony. 

Ned approached his son, asking his wife to follow him, and spoke to him, “Both of you wear this mask and get ready to run. We are heading back to your camp King Robb” 

Robb and Catelyn were totally confused with the last events and were busy recovering from definitely the worst situation of their lives. They took the masks from the cloaked person, “Who are you people? Why is my sister here” Robb asked. 

“We will explain everything later, Get hold of your wife and gather the other lords, quick… on my signal, we run before the Freys regroup.” Ned told him as had paved way for them to escape. 

“My daughter…” Catelyn said, “Arya!!” she screamed turning to face her. 

“She will come, don’t worry” Ned tried to calm his wife, knowing pretty well the signal must have reached Wulfric and Clay. “Any time now…” he thought to himself when he heard an explosion as thick black smoke rushed to the hall, “NOW!!” he gave the signal as everyone made run for it, to escape. 

Wallace sent Lucian ahead when Wulfric and Clay joined them, While he was waiting for Arya. He saw Wulfric waiting with him anxiously to make sure his mother was with him, “Wulfric, Go!!! I will get your mother… Now Go!!” he told him and turned to see what was taking Arya so long, he was surprised to see Arya smiling down at Walder Frey. 

“The Last thing you are ever going to see is a Stark smiling down at you as you Die” Arya declared as she slit his throat in one slash and she quickly jumped forward and joined Wallace.

“Let’s Go” Wallace took her with him as they joined the others and escaped the hall right on time as it was engulfed in smoke, burning the eyes of the Frey soldiers who fell to the ground one by one screaming in agony. 

The group regrouped with the stark bannermen outside the castle who were fighting off the little soldiers who had come to kill them thanks to the Hound’s prior warning. They paved a safe passage for their King and their group to go through and followed them afterwards. 

“This Way!!!” Ned guided the group, now also joined by Robb’s direwolf, as they ran into the woods at full speed, heading for the barn. They had sent the stark bannermen in a different way splitting the group to confuse the Frey men. The soldiers, led by the Hound and other northern Lords, were decoy as they were asked to get to the camp where the rest of the bannermen were based. 

Robb’s direwolf showed it’s might as it carried his pregnant wife all the way as she could not run, without slowing down the rest of the group as they consistently paced to the bran. Their plan had worked as there weren’t any Frey men following them, as they safely reached the barn, where the horses were ready to move. 

Robb and Catelyn were surprised to see Rickon waving at them as they reached the barn. He was alive… The group stopped at the barn to catch some breath, “Rickon!! You are alive” Catelyn was almost at tears. She had believed her youngest to be dead but here he was alive and well, smiling. She wasted no time to hug him, “Arya, come here” she called out her daughter who was with two boys covered in black. 

When Arya came, Catelyn showered kisses of relief knowing her little girl was okay. She had cut her hair and her appearance looked like she had gone through a lot but for now, she was glad her girl was alive… More than that, Catelyn was happy that she herself made it alive knowing full well that castle would have been the place her and her son’s grave if it wasn’t for Arya and these mysterious people. 

Robb was happy to see his brother and sister were safe but he knew he was deeply hurt by the situation where he put his family and his kingdom in grave danger, “I can’t thank you people enough, I am not going to trouble you with questions here. Let us head back to my camp, we will be honoured to have you as our Guests” 

Ned was happy how graceful his son was after just escaping a near death, evading his actual death. His son seemed to have matured a lot over the time he was not watching, “I was thinking the same”

 

At The Camp, near The twins

With a hard ride down the stretch, the group reached Robb’s camp without any complications. Upon reaching the camp, they were glad to see the other group led by the Northern Lords had reached safely as well with a few fights here and there from the trailing Frey men.

Robb had ordered the Northern Lords to fortify the Camp and stay on high alert at all times. It was only a few hours for the sun to rise as they hoped the get through the night. He took the group to his main tent at the centre and had asked not to be interfered. He had his direwolf guard the tent at the request of the black cloaked person who was the only one to speak so far. 

Inside the tent, Robb’s pregnant wife was seated on one side of the huge table covered in maps and other items while Catelyn and Robb stood on either side of the pregnant woman. On the other side of the table, the four cloaked people were standing and next to them, Arya was seated along with Rickon. Robb waited for them to begin. 

“I understand you have had a tough day but I urge you to calmly listen to what I have to say” Ned said as he removed his hood. He received expected reactions from Robb and Catelyn. 

Talisa however couldn’t recognise him until Robb spoke, “Father….” She immediately stood up when she heard Robb mention his father. 

Catelyn was beyond words to see her husband standing right in front of her. She was about to speak when Ned interrupted them.

“Please remain calm” he told them. He also gestured his daughter in law to relax and be seated, “Listen completely to what I have to say. I know you all received the word about my death a long time back, but the person who died that day was not me. He sure looked like me but it was not me. That day, these children next to me, saved my life…” he paused and signalled the children to reveal themselves. Notably, everyone did except Wallace who still had his hood on. 

“These children are the children of our children. Simply put, they are our Grandchildren from the future time” Ned explained looking at his wife, who couldn’t believe what she was hearing. When he was about to speak, Robb stopped her, asking her to wait and listen, but her eyes didn’t move away… “Let me introduce them” Ned started…

But for Catelyn, it wasn’t necessary as she could easily match the faces. The boy immediately next to Ned was Bran’s son while the two boys next to him must be Arya’s as they showed great resemblance especially the one next to Arya. It was as if she was seeing to Arya’s since Arya herself right now, looked a lot like a boy. 

Ned continued, “This is Lucian Stark, Bran’s son while those two are Clay and Wulfric, Arya’s children. There are more of them like Sansa’s daughters Viola and Liza who are currently with her at King’s Landing..”

That last part was news for Arya as well. She had expected this but having found out she had two daughters made her think it was so like Sansa. Catelyn was beyond words. She didn’t know what to think anymore as she listened to Ned closely. 

“These children appeared before me at the night of my execution and replaced someone else who looked just like me. That man lost his head that day in my place because it was important for the world to believe that Ned Stark is dead, even now until the time comes, apart from us, no one can know I am alive. It is because, these children are here to change the future, a selective portion of it, with my death as the starting point” Ned paused as he noticed the change in expressions, “Yes, in their time, I was actually killed. And like how they saved me, today we saved your lives. In their future, all three of you died today. And we stopped it from happening” 

Robb saw it coming but still it was too hard to sink in… his fears until he heard Arya scream would have been his actual fate if it wasn’t for these stark children. He knew, deep inside, though he survived today, the incident broke him… broke his spirit… he wondered how he was going to get back on his feat and lead his men. But for now, he was focused on the present having listned to his father. Although he noticed there were two more people who still have their faces covered. When he was about to ask, his mother beat him to it, “Who are the other two?” 

Ned sighed. It was not like he wanted to leave out Wallace when he introduced the other three. As this was the most complicated part that no matter how much he tried to prepare himself, he could not find an easy way to break this. So let decided to go with the flow and face it as it comes, now here he was. There were several factors here First, and the foremost one, Catelyn hates Jon. Second, Lyanna doesn’t know Catelyn hates Jon and he felt ashamed just thinking what would Lyanna think when she finds out Jon was hated by his wife his whole life and there was nothing he could do to change it. Third, his wife does not know the truth about Jon and this was definitely not the place to reveal it. And lastly, more importantly, Ned didn’t know if Wallace himself knew if his wife hated his father. The only way of him knowing is if Jon had told him and Ned couldn’t find it in him to ask him till now. He most definitely didn’t want to hurt Jon’s son. During the time they remained hidden from the world, there was not a single night Ned went to sleep without thinking of this moment. He knew it was bound to come and he couldn’t think of a way to handle it. The truth of the matter is, he could always tell his wife the truth about Jon but it would be disrespecting Jon’s struggles he had to face growing up. He decided to take full responsibility and face the truth. He asked Lyanna to reveal herself first.

When she did, “After they saved me, we had another mission, which is a story for another time, to raise her from the dead. We still don’t know why but it is what it is” 

Catelyn was shocked to see Ned’s sister. “Nice to see you, Catelyn” Lyanna greeted her. “Lyanna…” was all Catelyn could manage in return. Robb was surprised to see his dead Aunt alive. He expected a lot of other things but definitely not this. He was explained who she was to his clueless wife. 

“And this…” Ned signalled the last person with the hood in the tent to reveal himself, “This is Wallace… Jon’s son, He is the leader of their group” Ned told, as Wallace revealed his face. 

Arya was waiting for it as this was the first time she was seeing Wallace’s face. And boy he sure looked like Jon, just that his hair was a lot shorter. He was around the same height as Jon the last time she saw him. 

Talisa remembered Catelyn talk about Robb’s half brother Jon. She wondered if this was how he looked. 

Robb was surprised but happy to see Jon’s son. Just moments before his near death he had thought about Jon and from the time his father mentioned about the stark children from the future, he was hoping to meet Jon’s child too and glad he was able to. But he now had bigger worries, on how his mother was going to react. When he was a child he didn’t notice it but as he grew up, he slowly started to notice his mother’s hatred for his half-brother. He could not help but feel tensed about this forgetting all his own worries. But he was surprised to see it was Jon’s son who spoke… to him

“Your Grace, It is an honour to be able to meet you. My father had always said he had a lot of respect for you. In fact, he was jealous that you were better than him at everything. Please don’t think too much about the fact that you died in our time. That part of the future is changed now, I hope you don’t feel burdened by it” Wallace spoke with grace and smile. 

Robb felt he was so different from Jon. Outspoken and a lot happier. 

Ned could tell Jon didn’t tell anything to his son and he could only think how big of a heart he has. It made him feel proud to be his father. Wallace’s ice breaker definitely helped as Catelyn had not reacted at all, which he was grateful for now but he decided to talk to Lyanna about it. But for now, “Robb, what is the next move?” 

“We will move back to Riverrun at dawn, it is the base for now. Although I want to take back Winterfell, I don’t want to fall back too much. The war with the Lannisters is still going on” 

“Alright, rest for now… you need it” Ned told Robb. 

 

To Be Continued.


	6. Chapter 06: Rise of Queen Daenerys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A\N:
> 
> Reference: Family Chart
> 
> Sansa Stark: 1) Viola Stark (Elder) (Female)  
> 2) Liza Stark (Younger) (Female)
> 
> Arya Stark: 1) Wulfric Stark (Male)  
> 2) Clay Stark (Twins) (Male)
> 
> Brandon Stark: 1) Lucian Stark (Male)
> 
> Jon Snow:1)Wallace Targaryen (Male)  
> 2) Iris Targaryen (Twins) (Female)

Chapter 06:

 

At Yunkai

It is said that it is the soldier above all others prays for peace in their country as it is them who must bear the scars of war. A true commander would take time to counsel the fears of their men before every battle as lives are about to be thrown away for the sake of the kingdom. One can just imagine the time it takes to listen to fears of an entire army. 

Not many commanders follow them of late but there is one such who goes by the name Ser Barristan. It is not something he used to do, but something he learnt it from his prince. Even today, he would think about the times he served a prince who was truly worth protecting and risking your own life. Compared it him, people like King Joffrey is a spoiled kid with no sense of justice and leadership. There were many nights he would cherish those old memories and feel sad about the fact that the prince was no more, that he had failed in his duty to protect him, whatever the circumstances may have been. 

But now, Ser Barristan felt his eyes were deceiving him when he saw the same prince whom he failed to protect was fighting the group of bandits he was supposed to stop.

“Prince….Prince Rhaegar” Ser Barristan called out to check if he really was his prince or just a shell of the great person he once served. 

Rhaegar was surprised to hear someone call out his name, someone who recognised him. He was meant to keep a low profile until he meets his sister and if someone found out his identity, it would complicate things. But it was reassuring to see a familiar face, “Ser Barristan… “ Rhaegar could not find the words to explain his current situation as he continued to fight the enemy right before him. He took down three of the five men who surrounded him with gentle touches of his sword. 

Ser Barristan knew…. It was the real thing… the movements; that elegance; only his prince can fight like that, “There is no need for back up when this man is fighting” Ser Barristan thought to himself, but still he and his small group of unsullied joined the fight and finish the rest of the bandits, “I didn’t think I would get to fight with you again in this lifetime” 

Rhaegar laughed, “Brings back old memories huh, can’t believe you are with my sister, reassuring though” 

Ser Barristan felt honoured, “Your sister is more promising than even you, never fail to amaze me with the way she conducts herself… the seven kingdoms will never know what hit them. But how did you end up here? That other person I met with Queen Daenerys is with you isn’t it?” 

Rhaegar felt at relief to know that Iris made it in time. He knew she would, “I saw a signal for ambush and figured the link to the signal should be somewhere up here, so I sent my ally ahead to warn Daenerys while I interpret the signal. That’s what we just did. I will explain everything else later, for now, let’s re-group with Daenerys. And keep my identity a secret” Rhaegar told Ser Barristan as he hooded up again. 

“Of course, My prince…” Ser Barristan ordered a few unsullied to stand guard in case someone else comes while he left with Rhaegar. 

Back at the camp, Daenerys was running to safety along with Missandei and her daughter from the future, when they were blocked by two Second Sons men. She heard Iris tell her to stand back as her daughter took them head on, “Be careful” was all she could say when Iris was focused on dodging the incoming attacks. 

When Iris blocked one sword, the other person tried to force a stab which also she managed to dodge but lost her balance allowing a heavy kick to hit her stomach. Daenerys noticed her daughter was not as quick with the sword when compared to someone like Jorah or Ser Barristan but with much struggle, she managed to kill them both. 

“We are through, Let’s go! We will regroup at the meeting point with my companion” Iris told both of them as they quickly took advantage of the cleared path. They climbed onto the cliff on the other side and reached the same place from where Iris was initially scouting the camp. It appeared they had reached early as they were the only ones on that side of the cliff. But that did give them some time to catch a breadth after the heavy running. 

Daenerys felt so out of shape as she was gasping for air. Sure, it was hard to climb the cliff but even the running took all her stamina. Especially after looking at her daughter who was standing without breaking a sweat even with wearing those clothes, “How come you don’t feel tired even a bit?” 

“Ah don’t let it bother you, I went through some intense training” Iris replied. 

It occurred to Daenerys that this was the perfect time to talk to her daughter and get to know more of the situation, “I noticed you are still a bit inexperienced with swords.. you could have gotten killed. You had some close saves while fighting Daario. That fight could have easily ended bad for you”

“That’s because I am basically an Archer… I only learnt using swords quite late after arrows became less effecting against the enemy we were fighting… So yes, I am still learning but that won’t stop me from keeping you safe” Iris explained.   
Daenerys didn’t know much about fighting also she didn’t care. It was only after Ser Barristan joined her ranks, he insisted she has to know her infantry and cavalry troops if she is to become a queen one day. She knew how hard it was to leave a specialization and take on something new. After seeing iris’s sword techniques, she could tell her daughter was much more than an amateur, “Who did you learn it from?”

 

“My Brother” Iris answered, much to the shock of her mother.

This was the second time Daenerys felt overwhelmed, “You have a brother??? I mean, I have a son? What’s his name? Is he here too?” Daenerys knew she was too excited and she tried her best to not reveal it. 

Iris felt her mother’s blatant excitement and she felt partly… well fully… responsible for it. She remined herself she has to be more careful in revealing such important information about the future, “His name is Wallace Targaryen, we were born at the same time. He came back in time with me and there are a few others but he is not here. He is the commander so he is leading another mission. He really wanted to come see you but he has high sense of duty. He wanted me to convey his love for you and that he misses you a lot” 

This time, Iris could not sense anything from her mother, she couldn’t tell what her mother was thinking. She wondered if it was too much to take in in such a short period. She started to worry. 

Daenerys could see her daughter fidgeting with her clothes, clearly worried over something and she could only smile at it, “Iris, come here… Sit with me” she asked her daughter. When Iris slowly came forward and sat next to her, “The more I get to know you, you remind me a lot about myself when I was your age…” Daenerys could feel being taken over by her emotions, her eyes watering up…it only made Iris more anxious.

“Are you okay? I am sorry if it was too much, I will be more carefu—” iris tried to console her mother but she was interrupted. 

“No, No…” Daenerys said waving her hand, “I am fine. Its just that… Its just…I am really happy right now. I have never felt so happy in my life” Daenerys said, moving the lose strands of her daughter’s hair and lock them behind her ears to fully reveal her beautiful face. She could definitely notice she has someone else’s featured engraved in her, not only her own which made her feel a little jealous, “have I ever told you any of my darker pasts?” 

Iris simply nodded saying no, Daenerys continued “I was in a very vulnerable state of mind, ever since I let some witch convince me that I could never have children. It was not too far behind from now actually. But every since that happened, I never got enough sleep or eat enough, basically I was not myself. In order to take my mind off it, I focused on helping my people who are willing to lay down their lives for me and pursue my objectives. But now, looking at my daughter, hearing about my son alive in the other part of the world, both of whom, I gave birth to, it makes me so happy and trust me it eliminates a lot of pain and misery I had felt until now. Nothing could beat this moment and I am fully aware, that right now how lucky I must have been”

Iris was determined to always be composed when she was interacting with her mother but hearing her speak, she couldn’t help but start to cry. She always remembered her mother to be this strong and cheerful person who was always standing in front of Wallace and herself, protecting them from the difficult world. Only now, after coming to the past, she could understand that her mother didn’t have it easy at all. She must have overcome so many obstacles. 

Daenerys noticed Iris was starting to crying a little and for the first time, her daughter seemed so feminine making her wonder if she could look, pretty and cute in the same state of emotion, if she ever could, “What happened to me in the future?” she asked, hesitantly. There was no easy way to ask this and she was fully aware it will make Iris uncomfortable but she wanted to know and now seemed to be the best time to let the cat out, so-to-speak.

Iris looked surprised her mother could ask that with such composure prompting to answer almost immediately as a reflex, “The last thing I knew, you and father went to fight in a war and never came back for years, so we presumed you are dead”

Daenerys couldn’t tell what made her heart skip a beat, the fact that he died in some battle field or the mention of her children’s father. In all this, she never once gave a thought of who could their father be but now she was more curious than ever, “You wont just tell me about your father now, would you?” Daenerys knew the answer but got the confirmation anyway when Iris nodded her head in agreement. 

“Wallace specifically instructed me not to give away details that might affect the future. I have already said too much” Iris explained. 

“Do you miss your mother?” Daenerys asked.

Iris blinked for a second and then answered, “Everyday!! She meant everything to me ever since I was a little girl. She was always there for me and protected me. There is not a single day that goes by without thinking about my mother and the times I have spent with her..” Iris was finally crying, “When I came to this past and knowing you are alive and that I could be with you again, was something I dreamed of every single of those nights” 

Daenerys felt immense gratitude for her daughter. She gently wiped away the tears rolling down her little girl’s shining face, “I am grateful that you see me as your mother. Even though we are the same person, the future version of me is completely different from who I am right now, but I will do everything I can to love you and care for you as much as she did or even more.” When she finished, a few seconds later, she felt the weight of her daughter’s chest against hers as Iris leaped for a huge hug. Daenerys was experiencing love and affection in a way she has never felt all her life and she was excited for this new interesting flame in her life and she intended to keep her promise at any cost.

“I wish Wallace was here too” Iris said. 

Daenerys didn’t forget about her son, she cared for them both equally, “I wish for the same. I am excited to meet him soon. Where is he now?” Before Iris could answer, her daughter noticed two people coming and immediately got into battle mode, covering her face with the black hood. Daenerys herself got up and waited to see who it was but felt reassured as the figures came closer and closer for her to recognize. 

“Your Grace, are you safe?” asked Ser Barristan, as he paced his way to his queen. Daenerys told him she was fine and was protected by the girl standing next to her, and Barristan spoke, “Ah yes, I heard about you from your companion. It was hard to believe at first but now I am convinced it is all real. You did a good job protecting the queen, exactly what I would expect from her own flesh and blood” 

Iris, in the future, was always treated with respect from everyone being the queen’s daughter. It also included many people praising her for everything she does which made it seem too unreal, but this was the first time someone complemented her for something she actually worked for and the first time she felt she deserved it. 

Her mother spoke, “Speaking of which, who is your companion?” 

“Well… That is…” Iris was starting to stammer not knowing how exactly to explain his situation when Rhaegar saved her the trouble by revealing his face. 

Daenerys weirdly felt like she knew him but couldn’t quite recognize him. He had the same shining whitish hair like hers. For a minute she wondered if it was Iris’s brother but he seemed way too old, probably older than herself and as tall as Ser Barristan. “have we met before?” 

Ser Barristan was quick to clarify, “No, this is the Prince… Rhaegar Targaryen… Your brother”

Daenerys was speechless. To think she would meet two people from two different periods. Iris, her daughter from the future who is yet to be born and now Rhaegar, her brother who is supposed to be dead. 

“You have done great, Danny…” Rhaegar was about to speak when he saw people we approaching. He quickly put his hood and indicated Iris to do so as well. “We will talk in detail later”

Daenerys composed herself as could see Ser Jorah and a few unsullied soldiers approach her, “What is the status?” she asked.

“Khaleesi, All intruders have been killed and the Second Sons have surrendered. They confessed that the wise masters of Yunkai had paid them heavily in exchange for your head. But now that their leader is gone, the Second Sons have pledged to fight for you” Ser Jorah reported, his eyes shifting to the two cloaked people, “With some time to scout the camp, we will be able to regroup soon”

“No, we attack” Daenerys gave the command. 

Iris was closely observing the conversation and was expecting something like this, after all, she has been in several council meetings in the future and has a good grasp of her mother’s personality. 

Rhaegar found her confidence quite endearing but then, it was to be expected for someone to have achieved so much in the future. 

“The so-called Wise masters of Yunkai don’t seem to be that wise after all” Daenerys said. 

“Are we taking the money?” asked Ser Jorah. 

“We are taking the entire kingdom. Before sunrise, the city should fall” Daenerys declared. She signalled Ser Barristan to join Ser Jorah. 

Ser Barristan never felt so excited in a long time. In the time he served the Lannisters in the capital, he feared his skills and passion seemed to have dulled but he could feel every strand of hair dancing with excitement, probably because he was going on mission with his prince just like the old times, “Haven’t lost touch from the last time you fought in battle have you?” asked Ser Barristan.

Rhaegar was well aware Ser Barristan was referring to the Rebellion where he took his last breath, “Feels like yesterday” 

“Who are they?” Ser Jorah, still not quite comfortable with their presence.

“They both are important members of my council. They are here to advise me and keep me safe” Daenerys was quick to clarify, without giving away any information that could create confusion. Coming from her, Ser Jorah had no objections as all three of them, along with the Unsullied headed for the city. But she was surprised to see Iris follow them, “Not you… You will stay back” 

Iris protested, “But… I can fight” 

Daenerys could not see her daughter’s expression right now as she was wearing the hood but from her tone, she would have loved to see it, “I know… that is why I need you here with me” She didn’t want to drag this for long so she gently took hold of her daughter’s hand and signalled others to carry on. 

Iris could only watch Rhaegar and Ser Barristan leave with the others. She was really hoping to fight and make her mother proud. Even in the future, her mother had never seen her fight since she was trained to be an archer when they all left to took off the hood, “Mother…” 

Daenerys, finally able to the girl’s face and god it was a priceless moment. Iris was so cute with her pouting, and when she called her ‘Mother’ it almost made Daenerys let her go. But as her mother, she made her decision and for a good reason as well, “You don’t like keeping me company?” 

“I really wanted to be useful to you… help you” Iris not backing down. 

“You have done plenty already and you have a lot of opportunities to do plenty more. You have saved my life, what more can I ask for. Besides, now that you are here, it is my duty to keep you safe. It is what your mother, would have wished” Daenerys explained. For once she didn’t feel awkward speaking about her future self. 

“But.. you are my mother” Iris said, not quite sure what Daenerys meant. 

“Yes, I know…I know.. I meant to say I don’t want to replace those memories you had with me in the future. I want to respect the sacrifices I made in the future. It should always remain with you and from now, with me as well. And right now, I am your mother and what I do want to do is to create new memories, parallel to your old ones”

Iris felt touched that her mother thought through so far ahead and even considered the feeling of her future self. She truly was as great as the whole Westeros claimed, “What are you going to do, by taking this kingdom?” she asked.

“I am going to free all the slaves… once we liberate Yunkai, we will move to the next one;.and the next… until my path leads back to Westeros. 

 

Riverrun

Ned woke up early on his bed with his wife next to him. During the time he was a prisoner at King’s landing, he never thought he would be able to see the sunlight again let alone holding his wife again like this. 

“You look disturbed” Ned gently spoke to Cat even though it seemed like she was asleep. But he could tell she wouldn’t have been able to sleep at all. 

“After everything that happened at the Freys’ I couldn’t help but keep replaying the night again and again. If you hadn’t shown up, I would have lost Robb. And from what you said earlier, I actually lost him along with my own life in the future. I just couldn’t get over it” said Catelyn. Ned could sense the rigidness in his wife’s voice who usually is brave and strong. 

“We are safe now Cat. Robb is too. That future is no longer here” Ned did his best to try and calm her down. 

“Where did you say Bran was going?” asked Catelyn. “I convinced I didn’t even have the courage to even hope that he would be alive” 

“He is heading north, beyond the wall. I wasn’t entirely happy to let him go but it has to be done. But I am positive he will be safe. He is not alone, he has capable people protecting him” 

Cat rose up hearing enough of consoling words from her husband. If anything, it only makes her fears worse, “He is a cripple Ned, What makes you think he will be safe? And Sansa is stuck in the capital in the hands of that smirking evil queen and her bastard son, how can you be sure anyone of them will make it through”

“In the time I spent with the children, training them, one thing I have observed is that they all have been through a lot at that young age. And all I could see was the difficulties our own children had to overcome in order to survive in a world where we both were long gone. Still they managed to survive enough to have a family of their own, and these kids brought up just like how we raised our children, strong and brave” Ned explained. 

Speaking about the grandchildren brought some smile in Cat’s face and it seemed she was able to calm herself, “Arya’s boys are so like her, wild and mischievous. Sansa has two girls, you mentioned that night, what are they like? Righteous & noble like their mother?” Catelyn enquired. She seemed quite intrigued with the conversation about her grandchildren.

Ned laughed, “You would think that but they are so very different. From what I had observed, it seemed the Sansa we knew turned out to be quite different as she grew up. The younger one Liza sometimes talks about Sansa a lot when we were alone” 

Hearing all the stories brought the smile back on Catelyn’s face, “It makes me wonder who are their fathers? Do you know?” she asked. 

Ned kind of expected that but he was prepared, “No, and we should refrain from asking them about that. For one thing, we don’t know of their position in the future. By interfering, it could complicate things for them. But also deep down, for all we know, they could have died and it’s not something we should remind them of. In the end, they are all just children, no older than our boys and girls” 

He had given a lot of thought about various things and he never stops at any point. He had planned to take this mission very seriously and intends to see it through as planned. 

“Robb’s hosting us breakfast at the grand hall. We should get there soon. The children could be hungry” said Catelyn, making sure they are not late. 

“I should check on Arya, I didn’t get a chance to talk to her properly” Ned stated and Catelyn wanted to join in on the conversation as well.

Arya had never in her life sat in front of a mirror for more than a few seconds but right now, it warranted her to present herself a little better than her looks she donned during her brief captivity of the brother hood and the Hound. 

She had slept on the huge bed along with Wulfric and Clay with whom she has gotten along pretty nicely. Aside from the fact that they are her children from the future, they are in the same age and they decided to put aside complex relationships away and get along as friends which will benefit all of them. 

When she woke up early in the morning, she had an expert cut her uneven hair and groom it nicely to her liking and had a nice hot bath to sooth her drying skin. In just one single bath, she almost restored her milky smooth skin back and it felt good to be normal again. 

She was happy she was able to dress herself in a tomboyish pants and an Armor kind of jacket without being questioned about her feminine quirks. When she was about done, Clay and Wulfric got into the bath and had been making quite the ruckus inside making her wonder what in the world were they doing inside. It was pretty obvious they were playing around and it sounded fun too but it was hardly the place and time for all that, even she was aware of that. 

She heard a knock on the door and both her parents were here to pay her a visit, “Aren’t we meeting for breakfast?” she asked. 

Ned sat on the bed adjacent to the dressing table, “We just wanted to check in, to see how you three are doing” 

“We are not little children anymore” Arya stated when they heard clay shouting inside the bath, she felt dumb for trying to defend their case, “At least I am not”

“Let me help you with your hair” Cat offered.

“Mother… It is fine this way” Arya protested

“No it is not, Robb’s hosting us breakfast as a newly married king and we should present ourselves nicely” Cat explained as she wasted no time to start combing Arya’s new short hair. Even while Arya was protesting, she was still doing her thing and Arya also let her.

Ned could just smile, he really missed these moments. He realised he can’t blame everything on his decision to follow Robert to the capital. Even before Robert came into the picture, he hasn’t been spending as much time with his family as he used to. 

The door from the bath burst opened and Wulfric and Clay came out still playing around. They stopped on their tracks when they saw Ned and Catelyn.

Wulfric was the first to react, “Lord Stark… And lady Stark”

“Did you both enjoy your bath?” Catelyn asked them.

Clay answered, “Yeah that felt so nice, to have a decent bath in a long time without freezing to death” 

“Yeah we could hear all the way here” Arya retorted, not impressed. Clay just shyly stood there awkwardly.

“We are getting late and your hair is still so wet Wulfric” Catelyn noticed. It wasn’t a problem for Clay because he had really short hair. “You Grandfather will help you get it dry”

Wulfric immediately backed away, “No No, it’s fine like this, I can’t ask Lord Stark to do something like this” Being referred as his Grandfather felt good but he is such a great person and it didn’t seem right for him to do such petty tasks.

“Nonsense… Why do you think that, if that’s so troubling, maybe you can get Arya’s help, while I am done with her hair” Cat suggested making Arya immediately give a sharp look at her father asking him to do it. Not that she didn’t want to, but it was too soon and it felt funny doing it in front of her own parents.

Ned just laughed, “I’d be happy to help. I have done this so many times for Bran and Rickon. Come, sit” he said.

Wulfric obliged and they were soon busy getting ready. Cat had brought new clothes for the boys although in sight of other people, they all had to wear their black cloak including Ned. 

Cutting to outside the castle among the soldier’s camp, “What is my cute grandson doing in a tent outside the castle?” Lyanna asked Wallace, barging into his tent.

Wallace was just getting ready for the gathering hosted by the King, “It is just temporary. I wouldn’t be staying here for long” 

“You are leaving to Castle black?” asked Lyanna.

Wallace could sense loneliness in her voice, “I am sorry you couldn’t come with me. I know you want to meet Father more than anyone”

Lyanna didn’t know what to say, and she didn’t feel worthy of such affections even though it was coming from her own grandson, “I don’t know if you’d understand or even believe me when I say this but part of me feels responsible for turn of events right after my death. When I heard the story about the whole rebellion from Ned yesterday night, I couldn’t sleep at all. The guilt of being responsible for my father’s and my brothers and many more that followed is not something I can get over very easily”

Wallace was about to say something but Lyanna stopped him. She know he was going to deny her way of thinking, “I am sorry I mentioned all that Wallace, you already have enough on your plate and I don’t want to burden you with my own worries. And I felt the same about meeting my son. Until I settle all my worries, I don’t want to see him…”

Wallace really couldn’t understand it. Not that he is ignorant of family dynamics or anything but the emotional arc involved was too big for him to fully grasp and he knew better to not try. One among the many lessons her learnt from his father was to not poke your nose in situations you don’t have a full grasp of let alone have a solution for it. 

Lyanna smiled and ruffled Wallace’s hair, “Do you need to wear the hood and the mask? It should be enough to just cover your face until we reach the banquet hall” she suggested.

“There is something I need to ask of you” Wallace started to speak and Lyanna could notice he just dodged her question, “I don’t know how much you know but please do not mention my father’s Lineage. We must wait until Lord Stark decides to, when the right moment comes”

Lyanna suddenly felt ambushed but did her best not to pry for more details. She noticed Wallace’s distant behaviour ever since they arrived at Riverrun or to be specific…. “Does it have anything to do with Cat?” she didn’t realise she said the last part out loud until she saw Wallace freeze. She didn’t mean to put him in a spot and she cursed her reputational character to speaking her mind without minding the consequences. 

Knowing her grandson until now, he is not someone to say something this serious without any specific reason and she decided to wait on it, “I understand, I won’t… Don’t worry about it and lets get going.. We don’t want to be late”

Cutting to the Banquet hall, Robb noticed almost everyone were present, “Everyone’s here?” he wanted to confirm. It’s been just one night and he could see everyone present but still he confirmed, “ Let me start by making a toast… I understand we are family by I personally wanted to thank you everyone present for saving my life my mother’s my wife and more importantly, the life of my unborn son who would soon walk in this world which I hear in the actual future, he wouldn’t have survived along with us. For that as a father and as a husband, I offer my sincerest gratitude” 

Ned, seated directly opposite to Robb on the other end of the table could feel nothing but awe for his son’s graceful attitude to be grateful to his saviours irrespective of the blood-bonds they share. That’s one of the important qualities to have as a king. He could remember once on a hunt with Robb and Jon, they had camped on an open land by a river, braced by cold winds, bonfire lit up to keep them warm and roast some deer’s leg. Under the glittering stars, He shared many of his own life experiences as well as those that were told by his own father. One of the commonly touched upon subjects were what makes a person a great ruler. One of the important points was that as much as people serve you, taking it upon as their duty to do so, the least they would expect in return is nothing while the maximum they would expect is a sense of gratitude which alone provides great value for their service and motivate them to do more. 

Ned realised how much his son had matured to become a ruler worthy of giving your life, “As Wallace mentioned the other night, I hope you don’t see the incident as a setback for you as a ruler but rather use it as a pillar to support your claim for the foreseeable future. Failure is nothing but a stepping stone, and more you experience it, though not at grave cost, the better your confidence will be” he said. 

Talisa felt happy for her husband and could finally see the side of his father that the world speaks about, “Lord Stark, we are happy and honoured to announce that we have decided to name our son after you. I am sure he will grow up to be a great person like you”

“You overestimate me and your son will be a better person than me. Sometime later, I will tell you the story my father told me about how he gave me this name and it’s meaning” Ned was happy seeing his son was able to find someone to share his happiness with.

Arya and her boys were also able to feel the moment and felt happy for Robb. Arya herself thought back about her situation, she would have still been a prisoner of the Hound if her sons hadn’t shown up to rescue her. She felt she should do something for them in return, starting by opening up to them and getting along as friends. It would be a small step forward on their road to a bumpy relationship with no idea of it is going to end. 

They had begun to eat when Wallace spoke, “Lucian, What is the situation in the north after our attack on Freys”

“Can we have this discussion later? Let us eat in peace and enjoy the moment spent together as a family after a long time” Cat told Wallace She could see ned looking at her but she couldn’t help her instincts. She didn’t mean anything bad, it was customary to not talk about wars on the dining table. Besides, the incident at the Freys should definitely be bothering her son and his wife and she felt it wasn’t wise to bring it up so soon.

“My apologies lady Stark, but I do not have much time. I am leaving for Castle Black and on the road, I need to know who are our enemies” Wallace said, and it came as a shock for those hearing it for the first time which was everyone except Ned and Lyanna. Even Robb didn’t hear about this. 

“It is fine for one day Cat” Ned told his wife which was also meant for Lucian to respond. He was as curious as Wallace to hear about the changes in the north after the incident at the freys. 

Arya noticed Lucian began to speak, “It seems after the death of Walder Frey…” and when he mentioned that, most of the heads turned to meet her eyes which felt super awkward. She could do nothing but sip her Juice, looking away.

Lucian continued, “The frey Army are now under the command of the Boltons who occupied Winterfell are backed by Tywin Lannister. The lannisters seems to have played a part in the attempt at king’s life and have named Roose Bolton Warden of the North. While most of northern lords escaped from there alive, Lady Umber was captured forcing their house, swear loyalty to the Bolton’s in exchange for her life. And in addition to that, the Karstarks have joined with the boltons as well. With three of the major houses in the North joining hands, it forced many of the other smaller houses who were our bannermen to disintegrate meaning we no longer have their service. We are outcasted and on our own now with only the Tully army remaining on our side”

Wallace processed all that information pretty quickly, “Your grace, how does that affect your on-going war with the Lannisters?” 

“I had Lucian brief me about this earlier in the morning and I had been giving it some thought… We will continue to base our operations in Riverrun for the time being until we take our home back” Robb said.

“When will that be?” asked Arya, eager to know.

“Even If we march back all the way to Winterfell now, there is little hope we will be able to win the war. Even if we do, we will be spending a lot of resources and it will also give an opportunity for the lannisters to move forward and gain ground. The best place for us to be right now is here, we have enough provisions to survive and defend the castle from any incoming attack. But if we need to make an offensive move, we need a bigger army” Robb explained. “We had an option with The Tyrells but they have also sided with the Lannisters” 

“What is our plan Lord Stark?” asked Lucian.

“From the information from our networks, we come to know that the Tyrells and Lannisters are joining their houses by the way of marriage. And based on the outcomes in the your future…”referring to Lucian and Wallace…. “Joffrey Baratheon will be poisoned and murdered at their wedding” 

The last information surprised Robb and Catelyn but more was coming as Ned continued, “And the prime suspects are Sansa and now her husband Tyrion Lannister” that was an even bigger revelation for them. 

“But we will use it to our advantage. Sansa escapes King’s landing with Little Finger and heads to the Vale…” Catelyn immediately could sense the poisoning must be Little Finger’s handywork… “Arya, along with Wulfric and Clay will head for Vale and intercept them until Sansa is secure to pass on the message while also to retrieve the wildfire sample from her. This will be Sansa’s mission, which is to….” Ned explained. 

“To get command over the Knights of the Vale?” Robb asked, sensing the pattern in his father’s plan.

“Yes, the Vale army should be a significant boost to our attacking options and keep Tywin Lannister on his toes. Sansa will be on her own in this. She will get help from Viola and Liza” said Ned.

“What about us?” asked Wulfric, referring to their task to secure Sansa from Little Finger”

“Vale is just a side quest, your real mission is in Braavos” Ned said looking directly at Arya, “Valar Morghulis” was all her father said, enough for Arya to catch on the hint. 

Once the plan was detailed out, everyone was clear of their roles and Robb has to get on further with his plans. Ned told him he will not be advising him with regards to the War will the lannisters leaving it fully in his son’s control. Ned wanted to focus solely on his mission at hand. But the one thing Robb was not clear was about Wallace and his plans to join the Night’s Watch, “Wallace, what do you intend to do at Castle Black? I know Jon is there but it is not an easy place to survive” Robb asked. Ned let Wallace explain himself as it was a plan devised by his grandson. 

“Bran saw my father fight off Wildlings and head to Castle Black. The estimated timeline of events based on our future suggest that the war with Mance Rayder, the King Beyond the Wall and his army is about to begin and I would like to be there to support my father” Wallace explained. 

“I understand the Wildlings and Night’s Watch have been at war for centuries but What does Jon have to do with it?” asked Robb, piquing Arya’s and Lyanna’s interests as the subject shifted to Jon.

“My father went on an expedition further north, the real north in search of dead men. After a few turn of events, my father infiltrated Mance Rayder’s army, gained his trust and get spy on everything they had. That is why he is central to the War” Wallace explained. 

Lyanna didn’t know about these and it was so great to hear. She wished Rhaegar was here, it seems her son has taken after his father in more ways than she imagined at least when it comes to the mind of a warrior. All this made her more eager to go with Wallace but she knew she couldn’t. 

Robb expected that much, “I understand. Any support you or Jon might need, feel free to ask. Send my regards to him and I wish you luck in your journey. Until we met again” Robb came towards Wallace and extended his arm to shake hands. 

Wallace too stood up in respect and shook hands with the king. 

King’s Landing

Tyrion and Liza were back at the brothel seated at the table as there were women and men smooching and cuddling on all corners of the room. Liza had been to a brothel before but never when things were this lively.

Tyrion could feel he is already being a bad influence on her daughter within weeks from their first meeting. In this few weeks they had, they used the time to get along and get closer to build a wonderful relationship and frankly, Tyrion enjoyed every single moment he spent with his daughter. 

“Liz… Liz…” he called out to his girl but she seemed too immersed on her surroundings, he just sighed. “Promise me something….” It caught Liz’s attention, “Never mention this to your mother.or your sister. If they find out I brought you here…” his mind was going through several torture methods and pick the ideal one to explain to a little girl with as little graphic content as possible.

“I am not a child… and it depends on why are we here” Liz said.

“With my evil sister too busy managing or should I say too deranged to make the Tyrells submit to her deeds, it provides us with great deception to carry on with our plan to secure the Wildfire, for whatever reasons Ned Stark has planned. I could not see it ending well at all” Tyrion explained. “And you are a child, next time he gives you a mission like this, swap with someone else who got an easy one… And our first target who has access to the storage is here” 

Liz was finally full of attention beaming with excitement, “Shall we begin?”

To be Continued.

Wishing all readers Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Reflect on the special moments. ... and Hoping your holidays -and all your days- are filled with joy! ...

**Author's Note:**

> (A\N: 
> 
> Reference: Family Chart
> 
> Sansa Stark: 1) Viola Stark (Elder) (Female)  
> 2) Liza Stark (Younger) (Female)
> 
> Arya Stark: 1) Wulfric Stark (Male)  
> 2) Clay Stark (Twins) (Male)
> 
> Brandon Stark: 1) Lucian Stark (Male)
> 
> Jon Snow:1)Wallace Targaryen (Male)  
> 2) Iris Targaryen (Twins) (Female)


End file.
